The argument that same-sex marriage ruins the sanctity of marriage is utterly absurd. Since gay people have been getting married, straight marriages have not changed. If you know a straight couple who say gay people having rights has changed their marriage, they probably shouldn’t be together in the first place.

Besides that, saying gay couples can have civil unions with all the rights as married couples is not a compromise. There’s a scientific word for that, and it’s homophobia. I understand that traditionally marriage is between a man and a woman, but traditionally people can own other people. My point is, just because it’s always been done one way doesn’t mean that it’s not wrong.

Leviticus 18:22 says that being homosexual is wrong. I ask the people who claim the Bible as their defense for hatred to answer me the following questions. Exodus 21:7 says my parents can sell me into slavery; what price do you think I would go for? And when my mother wears a dress made of two types of thread and my father plants two different crops next to one another, does their stoning have to be public or can it be private, as is banned in Deuteronomy 22:11 and Leviticus 19:19? When NFL players play, do they have to wear gloves, as according to Leviticus 11:8 which says you may not touch pig skin? And does my brother have to get a haircut? He has a round haircut and that is banned in Leviticus 19:27. The point is, people pick and choose what they want from the Bible because some things are outdated.

And for my atheist homophobes out there, how about this? Mind your own business. No one is forcing gayness on you. You don’t have to go marry a man, fellas. And ladies, no lesbian wants a homophobe anyway. When I hear people say LGBT people forcing sexuality on others or their children, all I can think about is all the times I’ve seen a boy and a girl be friends at age five and all the adults say “is that your girlfriend?”

And even if you still think banning same-sex marriage is not an awful idea, just remember that for the entirety of human history people have hated people for things they cannot control. Whether it be the color of their skin, their religious beliefs, or where they’re from, people have always hated other people. No one chooses to be gay. Am I proud of who I am? Yes. That doesn’t mean that being straight wouldn’t be easier. Not being called slurs everyday would probably be easier, as would being able to be accepted by everyone in my life.

It’s hard for me to understand people who do not believe in equal rights. How does one not understand that they are on the wrong side of history and that one hundred years from now students learning about them will be appalled? I pity them.

Basically, be kind to your fellow human.