Marriage license denied for N.C. same-sex couple

              

               Over the past almost four years at Booker T., I have become an active supporter of gay rights. Growing up, I wasn’t aware of the gay community, I didn’t know of anyone in my family who was gay or lesbian, or my friends. Therefore, I wasn’t a supporter of it or against it, I was neutral. My parents never really discussed it to me so when I got to Booker T. it was easy for me to follow my gut and do what was right. I didn’t then and still don’t understand now what is wrong with two people loving each other. Love is love.

                When lesbian couple Amanda Hilty and Loraine Allen arrived at the Buncombe County seat of Asheville this previous week in North Carolina, they hoped to be leaving with their marriage license; however, they were denied it based on a state law that prohibits same sex marriage. This wasn’t their first time trying to obtain their license, it was the second. After Madison County register of deeds, Susan Rector, rejected them their license, Allen argued that it was unjust that she and her partner of thirteen years cannot get married in the state they have spent years living in. She also said that if they could not get married in North Carolina they would move to a state where they could, although they would prefer not to. If a man and a woman can get married there is no reason a woman and a woman or a man and a man should not also be able to also share this bond.

                Do these gay marriage bans violate the United States Constitutions equal protection clause? The 14^th Amendment forbids states to “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” Therefore, don’t same-sex couples have the right to get married anywhere in the United States of America? Even if they do not as of now, the laws should be adjusted in such a way that this is possible for them. I mean the Constitution was written over 200 years ago, we as a nation should realize that times change.

 Different people walk the Earth now than then. It’s almost like if we decided to keep slavery because the previous citizens of the United States thought it was right. Times change, and so do our mindsets. It is almost 2014! Wanting to be married to someone you love should not be illegal. Love is love, and as Hilty questioned, “How can somebody deny love?”

Despite ‘Strides’, Minorities Still Face Barriers, Obama Says

                Although our country has experienced tremendous growth since the March on Washington that occurred fifty years ago, I’m sure many people can agree that minorities are still not completely equal to the “majorities”.  This is true when concerning education, jobs, and many other things. Many of the problems we faced then are still occurring today just on a smaller and less obvious scale.

                The aftermath of slavery and Jim Crow has continued to affect us as a nation, leaving us with continuous discrimination.  The Thirteenth Amendment was adopted on December 6, 1865, almost 150 years ago, which abolished slavery in the United States of America. Although we no longer endure the cruel acts that once were before us and other things like separation of races at public facilities such as restaurants, minorities still face problems. They often live in poor housing, and are unable to afford a good education which hinders them from getting good jobs in the future, therefore leaving them unable to buy good housing. It’s like a constant cycle. Once minorities are discriminated against once, the effects can almost never leave them. It affects their lives.

                President Barack Obama proposes as a solution to begin promoting early childhood education and making college education more affordable through tactics such as decreasing the length how long it takes to obtain a degree in areas such as law. Removing a year from college will save families thousands of dollars, depending on what school their student is attending.

                Because of the Reconstruction Amendments passed in the late 1800’s, minorities have gained the same rights as other U.S. citizens. The 13^th Amendment abolished slavery. The 15^th Amendment granted voting rights to all citizens regardless of their race or color. And the 14^th Amendment granted equal protection under the law; however, this amendment is not always fully enforced. This can be proved by recent cases such as the Trayvon Martin versus George Zimmerman trial.  There is no reason a man should get away with killing a 17-year-old boy, no matter if he says he was “defending” himself or not. I’m sure if the races were switched the outcome of the trial would have been different.

                Justice is not always served when it comes to “minorities” versus “majorities”, but hopefully 50 years from now we can look back at today and see how far we have come.