Today, Wednesday October 28, 2009, President Obama signed a law that makes it a federal crime to assault an individual because of his sexual orientation or gender identity. This piece of legislation was named for Matthew Shepard, a teenage boy in Wyoming who was brutally murdered because he was gay. First, I would like to emphasize my belief that the implementation of this law is an important first step, of the many required to establish equal rights for gays and lesbians. Second, I am disheartened that a law like this even had to be passed at all.
It's hard for me to understand how someone could be so angry, ashamed, disgusted (what ever the case may be) at another individual's preferences, that he would feel the need to harm that person. Why? Why would you need to assault or murder someone based on a choice they made that does not affect you in any way? I truly am unable to comprehend a reason.
We live in America: the land of the free, the country of choice, the founder of personal liberty. We all know this; we all live by it. We complain if we are told what to do; we protest if we are not given options. We argue and disagree because we are free to do so; we give our opinions because we can. And for some reason, we still are unwilling to let others do the same; we wish to put limitations on our neighbor, but never ourselves.
On that note, I am sad that we still have to pass laws that protect people who may look, think, or act differently. We should all be protected equally no matter the circumstance. There should be no need for this hate crimes bill, there should be no need for the 19th amendment; there should be no need for affirmative action. But, there is...there is a need and that is what distresses me most. We are passing laws to counteract our hearts....this should make us ask: "what is wrong with our hearts?"
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