Imagine walking into a government building. The stuffiness of hundreds of bodies around you waiting and waiting and waiting to be served. You walk to the front desk, grab a number, 345. Suddenly 295 is called. This is going to be a long day. As you sit and sit and wait and wait and wait you hope this time, maybe just this time, you will get what you deserve. You have gotten all your paperwork filled out properly. You made sure everything was in order, you didn't miss a beat. There was no way they could turn you around this time. They can't, not after the hours you have poured into this.
315. Your palms sweat just a little bit. Why are you nervous? There is nothing to this. This isn't some big test. This isn't the doctors, there is nothing wrong. But why the sweaty palms?
328. Closer, ever more closer to getting this whole ordeal out of the way. If you are denied, it will be the end of it. This is the 5th time you've tried, and if it is yet another loud "No" then there really is no chance of changing anyone's mind. It is always a different time, a different day, a different person, but the same answer.
344. Next up. Anxiety takes hold, what will the next 10 minutes or so mean? Will you walk away overjoyed or frustrated or angry? Will your emotions get the better of you and make you cause a scene. Will the hours of work you poured into this be shot down by some careless and heartless government employee? Or will you get what you deserve? You were always taught, work hard and you will be rewarded. You've never asked for much in life, why shouldn't you deserve this one request?
345.
You walk slowly up to the open counter, number 18. The lady sitting behind seems nice enough, if not a little disinterested. She takes your papers, gives a casual smile then looks everything over. Page by page she slowly reads, checks the documentation. She sees that every line is signed. Everything is in good order. The recommendations are there. She looks up as if to signal, yes, you are approved. She starts to grab her pen to sign the approval form. You heart begins to race. This is it. You are finally gonna make it. As her hand lazily moves back to the paper, she stops midway. Dread creeps in as she seems to realize something and the hand reverses course and replaces the pen. It then swiftly grasps a big rubber stamp and in one quick motion red lettering is branded right on top of the application.
DENIED
How? Why? You stammer out the question almost immediately, hoping for some explanation. Was it one line you forgot to sign? That can be fixed in a heartbeat. Was it one of the documents you provided? That can also be fixed in a few mere days. The recommendations, well those could take a little more time if they weren't up to "par" but after 4 attempts before you knew they were good. But it was fixable. No, the reason she gave was something out of your control. Your chance at some happiness had been denied because of something you had no say in. It wasn't because you were a woman or a man. It wasn't because you were Latino or Black. No, the government had laws protecting discrimination based on gender and race. It was because you were gay.
Should you lie, pretend to be straight just to get approved? It would be easy, but it would be a lie, and it would be conforming to what some narrow minded people in this world want you to do: be like them.
There is a serious issue in this nation that is just as important as Woman's Suffrage and the Civil Rights movement before it. Gays are not viewed as equal under the laws of our country. And yet no one seems to care. Thousands of men and women want the happiness that others can experience. They want the same rights as those around them. Yet the are ignored, called nasty things, and shot down time and time again. The nation founded on inequality, that fought wars for equal rights, and staged hundreds of protests for racial discrimination, is doing nothing for the LGBT community. Gay marriage is not an attack on religion. It is a right to every citizen in our country. And to disallow it is to attack our nation's very citizens. To discriminate when discrimination is illegal. To segregate when segregation is illegal.
If you are a citizen of the US, it is your responsibility to fight for equality for all, not just a select few in our nation. We were all lucky to come to this land, so why should others enjoy it more?
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