What defines equality in America today? The concept of equality has recently experienced a powerful resurgence both within Wisconsin and the entire United States. This is largely due to the fact that the powerfully inspirational figure recently elected as president is also a black man. The historical significance of Obama’s victory cannot be disputed, for it clearly marks a dynamic milestone on the road toward the equality many Americans believe in. Yet while the fight against racism has made meaningful progress, a new development of oppression has risen up against homosexuals.

There are some who criticize the comparison of the fight for black civil rights to the homosexual struggle for equality. The argument is that black rights are truly a civil rights issue, while the topic of gay and lesbian rights are, in actuality, a debate over morality. Many think that while people are born black, homosexuals choose to be gay. Regardless of one’s own ideas about homosexuality, the bottom line of both issues is the abuse of democracy: Americans refusing to support total equality by voting in favor of discrimination toward a particular group.

Recent examples of such bigotry have littered the United States and sparked protests nationwide. Arkansas just passed legislation prohibiting gays from adopting children, despite the overwhelming numbers in state care. Florida and Arizona recently laid the foundation to ban gay marriage, and California overrode a previous ruling declaring a gay marriage ban unconstitutional with Proposition 8. Many political analysts believe that rallied support among churchgoers, who frequently oppose gay rights, carried the vote in these states.

Christians often take an anti-gay stance on the grounds that the Bible condemns homosexuality. In arguing this point, Christian scholars usually cite passages from Corinthians and Romans, but most frequently the Book of Leviticus. Leviticus 18:22 states, “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.” Leviticus is a cheery little book that also denounces, among other things, shaving and disrespecting one’s parents as mortal sins. Quotes from Leviticus have also been deviously used in the past including verses historically referenced to justify slavery.

Leviticus 25:44 is a passage where God says, “Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you,” which was taken to mean the Bible advocated enslaving one’s neighbors. Before the 13th Amendment abolished slavery in 1865, this passage was cited constantly to assert how slavery was justified. This same pattern of thought is currently echoed by religious opponents of gay rights.

The Bible can be cited in any argument but should be irrelevant when voting in America. The Founding Fathers separated church and state because they saw firsthand the corruption that occurs when both govern as one. Separating the church from the state is a critical idea of American politics that can be traced back to Thomas Jefferson and has resonated throughout U.S. court cases. Usually, these two elements are able to coexist through civilized tolerance, with each authority presiding over its own domain.

Conflicts arise over marriage because it has both legal and religious associations. Religion considers marriage to be a sacred bond between a man and woman. However, there are many legal benefits that also correspond to marriage. As an institution, marriage itself is not heterosexual, but it can be designated as such to exclude homosexuals from accessing these legal benefits. According to the U.S. General Accounting Office, there are over 1,000 legal benefits denied to homosexual couples because of no comparable equivalency to marriage under national law. Some states offer domestic partnerships and civil unions, but these vary from state to state and are pacifying measures at best.

This outright denial of equal rights under the law should be unacceptable to any American, regardless of sexual orientation. Plessy v. Ferguson determined in 1896 that racial segregation was still constitutional as long as white and black facilities were of the same caliber. This concept of “separate but equal” was overturned by Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 because it was overwhelmingly clear that separate almost never means equal. Today, Americans seem well aware they cannot allow the law to segregate groups of individuals. Permitting exclusions of homosexuals from the institution of marriage to continue sends a clear message that they are second-class citizens. This is a particularly notorious concern this election year because, by electing Barack Obama, America has proven it can learn from past mistakes. The issue should not be about who had a harder civil rights movement. The reality is that U.S. citizens should strive for liberty and justice for all. But more than anything, Americans should never abuse their own unalienable rights, such as the right to vote, to infringe upon the rights of others.

Casey Skeens ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in French.