Equal Rights For LGBT

My name is Emma M. and I am from De Pere Middle School in Wisconsin. Although my school really does not bring the topic up often, I think that LGBT rights are extremely important. We all know that gay rights have been a huge controversy for a very long time, but I feel that love is love and gay marriage should be seen simply as what it is, just marriage. I know many people see a lot of issues with it and believe it is a sin or that it is gross and an awful thing overall but I feel is someone is happy it is no longer up to you to force your opinion upon them. I want our next president to give equal rights to everyone in the nation, regardless of sexual preference, race, religion and gender. Many people seem to say that they do not support gay rights is because of their religion, but your religion does not justify violating our human rights. Many people also do not realize that beating or killing someone based on their sexual preference is also a violation of the human rights as well as making laws discriminating against gays since the marriage equality law was passed summer of 2015 according to according to Opposing Viewpoints. A popular phrase you may have heard is “gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights.” It is a strong statement saying that all gays deserve human rights and all humans deserve gay rights. The amount of support the LGBT community has gained over the last couple decades is very empowering. In 1988 it was said that only 10% of Americans supported gay marriage. Then just a few years later it is said that 35% of Americans support it and now 55% of Americans support it. That’s over half of the country and many of the supporters seem to be the youngest generation which hopefully means that the generations to come will be even more supportive. By 2014, 37 states had already passed the law on legal gay marriage and just 2 years later it is legal in the entire country according to Opposing Viewpoints. This shows the perseverance and support went a long way for an amazing cause. My final argument is the simplest but is taken way out of context and blown out of proportion. All the LGBT community is asking for is equal rights, not special rights that are specific to gays. Many speakers have tried to explain that the LGBT community does not want special rights that no one else can have, they want to have the same basic rights that everyone else in the United States have. Several people suggest to steer away from the phrase “gay rights” and refer to it as “equal rights” to stop confusion and make the point much clearer according to Issues and Controversies. The LGBT community wants to stop being harassed and start being treated as equal American citizens, not as special gay U.S. citizens. In-conclusion I believe that no matter what, love is love and it always will be. People will never agree on things but I believe our nation is taking a step in the right direction when it comes to equal rights. I feel there should be no discrimination or harassment against the LGBT community. As long as we and our next president can at least try to put an end to problems relating to discrimination, I feel we have made progress in our country's equal rights. Sincerely, Emma M