In 1964 the Civil Rights Act outlawed segregation in all U.S. schools, workplaces, and public accommodations. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawed all discriminatory voting practices. Finally, 100 years after the Civil War, all citizens, men and women, were TRULY equal under the law.

 The U.S. washed its hands and moved on, and were all too happy to spend the next 50 years condemning every backwards country who implemented any discriminatory practices. Yet here we are in 2015 and “the model democracy” still does not afford all of its citizens the same rights under the law.

 I’m speaking of course of the homosexual community, who recently scored what looked to be a major win in the supreme court when it ruled 5-4 that states could not ban same-sex marriage. However, in a situation eerily similar to the postbellum south, conservatives, namely in the south, are starting to find ways around affording these rights to these deserving citizens. 

In essence, the south has traded Jim Crow for Kim Davis. 

And on what grounds do these bigots defend their views and policies regarding gays? The Holy bible of course. 

Southern conservatives are all too happy to tell you to not “Tread on (them)” and that gun control goes against their second amendment right. However they are okay with supporting the campaign against gays being allowed to marry on the basis that it is against biblical teaching. However in the first amendment of the constitution the “separation of church and state” is clearly outlined, meaning that to oppose legislation to support same sex marriage, these activists would be breaking the first amendment. 

The constitution is not a grocery store. Americans cannot simply pick the parts they support and blatantly disregard the parts that they do not. 

Growing up being force fed Christianity, I was exposed to a litany of ideals from the outdated text. By far the most common theme was love. Complete and unadulterated love for all of god’s children. No one would be left out of heaven as long as they repented for their sins. 

Somehow from the hundreds of pages concerning love and forgiveness, homophobic Christian jingoists found one verse in the old testament condemning the practice of homosexuality. 

Leviticus 20:13 “If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.”

However Leviticus 20:10 states “If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death.” Yet this hasn’t stopped staunch traditional marriage supporters such as Senator John Ensign, Governor Mark Sanford, Senator Larry Craig, Senator David Vitter, and Representative Mark Folley from committing adultery. 

It is a conservative staple to go anywhere in the world to force democracy and equality on other people. I think it is high time that we take a better look at ourselves and the lack of equality and the poor treatment in our own country first. Because to be truthful, every time the nightly news is marred by a bigot who is taking a stand against equality, I am embarrassed to be an American and even more embarrassed to be associated with Christianity. Live and let live.