Breaking Stereotypes: Why I'm the last person you would expect to support same-sex marriage

I am a straight, white, southern, Christian male from the state of Virginia, who votes more often for Republicans then Democrats, who thinks society is to politically correct, who "reads" Playboy, and likes to look at beautiful women.

Suffice to say, I am, stereotypically speaking, probably the last person who would support equal rights for everyone, regardless of their sexuality, and has no problem what so ever with two adults of the same gender marrying one another.

Now I use to be against same-sex, and I admit I was wrong. The reasons why I was is mostly because of two things:

Peer pressure from an homophobic culture, and bullying from said culture during high school.

I was bullied throughout my entire school years. At first it was because the kids just wanted to pick on someone, and I was seen as the easiest target, and it continued even into high school, and in high school many people were claiming that I was gay, and were using that as a "reason" to continue to bully me (because apparently when you get older you need an "excuse" to torment a person who won't fight back). So this left an impression on me for several years on me that homosexuality and bisexuality was wrong (don't ask me why, it just did) and that same-sex marriage should never be legalized.

Eventually I got over this, and after interacting with gay and bi people and talking to gay and bi people, I realized that there is nothing wrong with gay and bi people, nor is there anything wrong with being gay or bi, and that it is the bullies who have something wrong with themselves, and that I don't have to hate, or dislike, or try to deny a group of people rights that they should already have because they are of a different sexuality than me in order to feel secure about my own sexuality, and that there are gay and bi people out there that most people would never think were gay or bi unless they either told you, or introduced you to their partner.

In fact one of friends, Sean Munger, is bisexual, and I didn't even know it until he announced he was getting married to a guy. Heck, I didn't even suspect that he was bisexual at all, mainly because he loves heavy metal music, and he writes zombie fiction (which at the time I thought that only straight guys were interested in)!

Basically, he is not what I thought a stereotypical, bisexual guy would be like, and that's a good thing too, because it helped destroy some stereotypes that I still had in my own mind.

The fact is that I no longer see homosexuals and bisexuals as being wrong, or wicked, or even abnormal. They're normal people, and just because they are attracted to people who are the same gender as they are does not mean there is something wrong with them. Heck, there are some women that I am attracted to that other straight guys would believe I am wrong for being attracted to. Does that mean that I truly am wrong for being attracted to said women? No, it's just a matter of that other person's personal preference, and their inability to get over the fact that not every other guy thinks like them, or has to think like them, and in the end it just makes them look like a jerk.

The same applies with people who think that homosexuality and bisexuality is wrong. They just can't get over the fact that homosexuals and bisexuals are not attracted to the people that they feel they should be attracted to, and in the end it just makes them look like jerks.

These people need to get over their insecurities like I did, that they don't have to be a societal stereotype, and that believing that someone that is different from them should have the same rights as they do doesn't make them a bad person, it makes them a better person.

Same Sex Marriage: Why there is no valid argument for keeping it illegal

Same sex marriage.

Throughout the the 1990's and up til now it has been very controversial. While many people support it and believe it should be legal nation wide (and world wide for that matter) there are still many whom oppose legalizing it, despite the fact that the movement to legalize it is growing, and opposition is shrinking. In fact many people who once opposed same sex marriage now support it's legalization (I happen to be one of them).

Those who still oppose same sex marriage will often give four primary reasons why they believe same sex marriage should be illegal. Those reasons are is that they believe that it's immoral, it's against nature, it's disruptive to society, and it will increase child molestation.

Of those four reasons (and many others) there is the one thing that they all have in common: not one of them is valid.

As for the first argument, that it's immoral, is more of a matter of opinion then fact.

Not all people consider it to be immoral. In fact several religions consider same sex marriage to be as perfectly moral as heterosexual marriage.

One could even argue that not legalizing same sex marriage might be a violation of the 1st Amendment, particularly the part about freedom of religion, because one could say that denying a marriage license to a couple because they are the same gender is illegal and unconstitutional because the state would be imposing one religious belief (that being only heterosexual couples can get married and that homosexuality is wrong) over the religious belief of another (that being that homosexuality is okay, and that same sex marriage is okay under that religious belief).

The second argument that opponents of same sex marriage make is that it is against nature.

That argument is total non-sense, as it has been shown through observation that many animal species have members that are homosexual (I believe the number is somewhere between 300 to 400, but it could be much higher).

There is only one species that has shown to discriminate against the homosexuals of it's species: Humans.

Not only is the nature argument invalid, one could even say that discrimination against homosexuals is against nature.

The third argument, that it's disruptive to society, is also not true. In fact many of the best countries in the world have legalized same sex marriage. The Netherlands for example legalized same sex marriage in 2001, and is currently one of the richest and most stable countries in the world.

If anything it helps improve society because it shows that society treats everyone as equal.

Plus, it hasn't affected American society either because what most people who oppose same sex marriage do not realize is that same sex couples have been getting married in this country for decades now, it's just been in the last decade that some states have begun issuing those couples marriage licenses.

The forth argument (and one that has often been described as homophobic propaganda) is that it would result in a higher amounts of child molestation.

This argument stems from the belief that most homosexuals are also pedophiles, and that married homosexual couples would molest any children that they adopt.

Besides this accusation being quite sick, it's completely and totally false.

Every legitimate study about this has shown that homosexuals have no more higher rates of pedophilia than heterosexuals. The studies that say otherwise on the other hand are not from legitimate institutions, and are for the most considered to be fraudulent and nothing more then propaganda created by religious institutions that strongly oppose homosexuality (it should be noted that the organizations that do promote this type of propaganda are listed by the Southern Poverty Law Center as hate groups).

Now while there are other arguments that are made against the legalization of same sex marriage, these are the four big ones, and as I have shown, none of them are valid (along with any other arguments not mentioned).

The fact remains is that there is no reason what so ever to keep from allowing same sex couples from having their marriages legally recognized.

An Historic Election

While most elections are in their own way historic, the election of 2012 may be a truly historic election (and one that will get it's own chapter in our history books, and not just a page or two) and regardless of what you may feel about the outcomes, there are several reasons why this election will most likely be considered historic.

Here are several reasons why I believe that this election will be considered in the future to be a truly historic one:

Three Presidents, six terms

For only the second time in this nation's history has there been three presidents in a row that have held two consecutive terms. The only other time this has happened was from 1801 to 1825 during the presidencies of Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe.

Minority Run

For the first time in our nation's history two candidates from two different minority groups (Barack Obama being African American, and Mitt Romney being a Mormon, a minority religion) have run for president under the two major political parties.

Light them up

Washington and Colorado became the first two states in the nation to legalize small amounts of marijuana for recreational use by adults. Of course this doesn't mean that it is completely legal (it is still illegal under federal law, and federal law enforcement agents can still arrest you if you have any pot on you) but it does mean that the local and state law enforcement in those two states can not arrest you if they find a bag of weed on you, or catch you smoking a joint.

The 51st State

For the first time in the island territory's history the people of Puerto Rico voted to become a state. Of course it doesn't mean that it will automatically become a state, as congress must vote on whether or not to approve statehood for the island. This could merely be a formality and could come as early as December, or this could be years from now.

If it does happen this year it will be the first time in 53 years that a new state has joined the United States.

Women in the Senate

There are now more women in the Senate then there have been at any other time in our history. There are now 20 women who are in the United States Senate, or 1/5 of the Senate.

LGBT Rights

For the first time in our history voters in several states approved legalizing same-sex marriage. In the states of Washington, Maryland, and Maine voters approved of a state laws that would legalize same-sex marriage (note: this is also significant because in 2009 it had been rejected in Maine), and in Minnesota voters rejected a state constitutional amendment that would outlaw same-sex marriage (mind you their state laws still outlaws it). Also, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin became the first homosexual to be elected to the Senate.

Embarrassing Conspiracy Theories: Homosexual Agenda

There is this conspiracy theory that's being floated around by the Conservative Christian movement known as the "Homosexual Agenda". What this theory is based upon is the belief that homosexuals are actively trying to destroy what is consider traditional morals and values, and them remaking it into their own.

The reason for this conspiracy theory is probably because there is this continuing belief that homosexuality is a choice, and not something that someone is born with, as many psychologists and biologists contend. Because of this belief it is believed that homosexuals must "recruit" people into homosexuality, and that they target children for this, as they tend to be vulnerable. This has also led to the belief that homosexuals also have a higher rate of being or becoming pedophiles. This belief is not supported by any credible studies, and the only studies that do claim this are done by organizations that have a real anti-homosexual agenda, and are very biased in nature.

Because of this belief that homosexuality is a choice, in their minds, homosexuals must be actively trying to change society into something that is corrupt and perverted. It is believed that homosexuals are trying to do this through getting the government to legally recognize same-sex marriage and increasing legal protections under the law. From what I have seen, this isn't true at all. They just want society to accept them equals, rather then reject them simply because they're not sexually attracted to people of the opposite gender.

There is also this belief that homosexuals are trying to create laws that are aimed at destroying Christianity. This comes from the belief that homosexuals can not be Christians. Neither of these beliefs are true at all. In fact there are many homosexuals who are Christians, and in fact there are several homosexual, Christian preachers, who do preach in mainstream, Christian church denominations.

The biggest problems with these beliefs is that not only is there no proof that legally recognizing same-sex marriage and increasing legal protections is actually damaging to society, not doing so might actually be more damaging to a society which is changing it's attitudes towards homosexuals, not to mention the fact it's basically treating a certain group of people like second class citizens. This, and anti-homosexual propaganda spewed out by politicians, makes some homophobic people feel justified in committing acts of violence towards homosexuals, most especially homophobic teenagers, who might already live in a homophobic environment.

Homosexuals don't want to destroy society, and they don't want to destroy Christianity, they just want to be accepted and treated like equals, and not like second class citizens.

Is There Anything Positive about the Anti-Homosexual Movement?

For the past couple of weeks I've wondering if there is anything positive about the anti-homosexual movement?

This whole wondering began after hearing about the death of Jamey Rodemeyer, a 14-year old boy who committed suicide after being bullied and tormented for years because he was homosexual. What is even worse was that even after this some of the bullies continued their bullying of him even after his death by chanting "you're better off dead" and "we are glad that you're dead" at a recent school dance when a Lady Gaga song was played (Jamey was a big fan of Lady Gaga).

If one person had done this chanting, it could easily have been explained as being the actions of one very disturbed student.

But it was several.

This comes to reason that these kids are being influenced in some way to think that what they have done is perfectly acceptable.

And this gets back to my question: Is there anything positive about the anti-homosexual movement?

The answer to that is: None.

Everything it has done has been pretty much negative from what I've seen.

It's created a situation that has led some kids to believe that it's perfectly okay to harass, torment, and abuse other kids whom either are homosexual, or are suspected of being homosexual, which interns leads to depression and sometimes suicide.

It has created a situation where some people now feel (or made known) that they are not welcome amongst their family, or even their community, because they are homosexual.

It has created a situation where some people believe that violence against homosexuals, and vandalism against churches and other establishments that openly welcome homosexuals, is okay.

It has created a situation where some people believe that homosexuals are either very hostile, and/or are sexual deviants and pedophiles whom actively try to turn children into homosexuals.

It has created a situation where some people believe that homosexuality is a choice, and that a homosexuals can become heterosexual through therapy and prayer.

It has created a situation where some people believe that many of the rights that homosexuals have recently gained should be reversed.

And finally, it has created a situation where people in the anti-homosexual movement are viewed as being a bunch of bigots who are exploiting the Bible to justify their own bigotry, and has also lead to an increased negative view of Christianity.