Cleopatra King 12 December 2011 English McNeil

A teenager who fatally shot a gay classmate in the back of the head during an Oxnard middle school computer lab will spend 21 years in prison under a plea deal reached Monday, closing the books on a case that drew international headlines and ignited debate on how schools should handle sexual identity issues (Burke). The father of a gay Ottawa teen who committed suicide Saturday told CBC News his son was constantly bullied throughout elementary school and into high school (Filer). Traditionally in this country, marriage has been defined as a religious & legal commitment between a man and woman, as well as the ultimate expression of love. Gay people have been discriminated against and persecuted for centuries just because they have a different way of expressing their love for someone else. Is humane to treat some people as less than human just because you disagree with their lifestyle? It is cruel to deny marriage to two people who are in a loving relationship just because they are of the same gender. Being gay doesn't mean that a person is un-American, or unpatriotic. Gay people are citizen ns of this country and should enjoy the same rights under the constitution as their heterosexual brethren. The constitution was written for all our citizens, not just heterosexuals. Homosexuals should have the right to enjoy life to the fullest under the constitution. They shouldn't be treated as second class citizens. That is not a liberal or conservative belief. The constitution and the Bill of Rights wasn't written just for either liberals or conservatives. It was written for everyone! Government should be kept out of people's bedrooms. To deny marriage to a certain segment of the population is discrimination. There is nothing in the constitution or the Bill of Rights that says anything about who can be married.

Cleopatra King 12 December 2011 English McNeil Virtually every religion in the world, including the major ones in this country, consider homosexuality unacceptable. It is offensive and a swipe to the religious freedom of the majority to have to recognize a relationship they consider sinful. Should religion be a factor in our government that is supposed to represent all citizen? The legal system in the United States evolved out of the laws contained in the Bible. (Messerli)

Cleopatra King 12 December 2011 English McNeil

Works Cited
Burke, Ashley. Calif. teen admits to killing gay classmate. 21 November 2011. 3 December 2011. <http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57329215/calif-teen-admits-to-killing-gayclassmate/>. Filer, Eddie. SHOULD SAME SEX COUPLES BE ALLOWED TO MARRY? 3 March 2010. 2 December 2011. <http://www.naplesnews.com/blogs/social-critic/2010/mar/03/marry/>. Messerli, Joe. Should Same-Sex Marriages be Legalized? 18 November 2011. 5 December 2011. <http://www.balancedpolitics.org/same_sex_marriages.htm>.