Anyone who is living with both feet firmly planted in the twenty-first century is probably well aware of the issues surrounding human rights. In the past, we’ve fought as a nation for our freedom. As individuals, we’ve done the same. The freedom I’m referring to, however, wasn’t freedom from slavery or servitude. We’ve fought for the freedom to love whomever we want to. However, it would unfortunately appear that one of the Republican frontrunners for president seems to have her mind set on destroying hundreds of years of social progress.
Michele Bachmann and her husband Marcus have routinely made statements that are disrespectful to the five or so percent of Americans who are members of the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) community. Michele, a Representative from Minnesota, is running on the Republican presidential ticket in 2012. Marcus runs a Christian center that offers counseling in the area of Conversion therapy. In other words, he tries to help people “pray away the gay” or change sexual orientations.
The Bachmanns’ comments on homosexuality have compared being gay to being a “barbarian” that needs to be “disciplined” (Marcus) and to being a person with a life of “personal bondage, personal despair, and personal enslavement” (Michele). They also both claimed that they were not bashing the LGBT community when they made these insulting statements.
There are only six states, as well as D.C, that let everyone legally marry. It is my personal opinion that marriage is a human right and not a heterosexual privilege. Everyone should have the legal right to marry the love of their life if they choose to, regardless of that person’s gender.
My opinions non-withstanding, it should still seem unfair that a nation that was founded on the principles of freedom and tolerance continues to deny civil liberties to (roughly) five percent of its voting population. And although the odds of Bachmann becoming president are very slim, the fact that her views and those of her family are so anti-gay and intolerant still scares human rights activists, like myself. What would happen if someone with Bachmann’s viewpoints did, or does, end up in the White House?
