Mostly missing from the news in the state of Oklahoma is the anniversary of the police raid on the Stonewall Inn on June 28, 1969. This isn't unlike the lack of coverage which occurred in 1969, but surely we've become a more enlightened society since then, right?
Not just yet.
Homosexual men and women, those whom Baltimore Sun columnist Tim Smith refers to as "people who go to work, pay taxes, take deep delight in family and friends, treat animals with affection, keep a neat yard, watch old movies" are still treated as second-class citizens by the laws of this country.
The attacks continue from the self-proclaimed moral right and the lunatic fringe. Elected officials such as Oklahoma Representative Sally Kern base entire careers on such bigotry. Fortunately for them, the leaders of their movement are living lives of chaste decency. You know, Senator John Ensign or Governor Mark Sanford.
Still, I have hope. I meet more and more young people who, like me, feel rights denied to anyone are rights denied to everyone. Just because I'm not gay doesn't mean this isn't my fight too. It is a battle of education and exposure of people to ideas. I believe a people who love individual freedom will naturally come around to the principles of equality.
Let's just hope it doesn't take another forty years.
No comments:
Post a Comment