10 Percent | Teen Ink

10 Percent

December 1, 2008
By Anonymous

Imagine the following; you’re a lesbian whose partner is currently on life support. Your partner is more than likely going to die within the week, and she has made a living will stating that if she is dependent on a breathing machine, she wants you to make the decision to remove the ventilator. Unfortunately, if this situation occurs and if your partner’s biological family disagrees with you, you might not be able to fulfill your partner’s wishes. This situation is even worse if there is no living will providing a contractual agreement. Homosexual couples are not allowed to make the decision on cases such as these for their partners.

Depriving people of basic rights because of their sexual orientation is inhumane and should be against the law, yet we have laws banning homosexuals from having basic rights like everyone else. Society further degrades homosexuals by using the word gay completely out of context, using it to mean stupid. There is a perception that homosexuals choose to be gay. Further, we are depriving them from the right to carry the significant partner on their medical insurance.

It is ridiculous how many times the word gay is used out of context every single day. The Webster’s dictionary describes gay as having or showing a merry or lively mood. When people hear the word ‘gay’ they think homosexual. Unfortunately, many teens use the word to mean dumb or stupid. This has nothing to do with what the word really means and I think it is offensive to homosexuals.

Why is there this belief that homosexuals choose to be gay? There is little evidence that anybody would want to choose the type of discrimination homosexuals have to endure on a daily basis. Some homosexuals choose to try living a “normal” life. They get married to the opposite sex, have children, and pretend to be happy, when in fact they’re miserable. They are acting out a life, the life society thinks they should have. The only reason people do this is to avoid the discrimination they receive from society. How shameful that this community of people cannot feel comfortable to live their life in the open without repercussion.

Studies indicate that ten percent of the population is gay. This means that chances are, everyone knows somebody who is gay, but they probably don’t know it. Forty percent of the population believes that gay people should not have the right to marry their partner. Nine percent of the population that homosexuals should not have the same job rights as their heterosexual equals.

Our society is not fully accepting of this alternative lifestyle, but we are improving. In the last 30 years 34% more people say homosexuals should have equal job rights. Also, the younger the population, the more people seem to support gay rights.
Segregating the gay population from society is morally wrong. This population deserves equal treatment and equal rights. We are creating a society with second-class citizens by segregating 10% of our entire population. This discrimination should not be tolerated within a democratic society of all people.

The author's comments:
I want people to understand that denying homosexuals of their rights is the equivalant to when African-Americans were slaves. People just need to think before they speak, because for all you know somebody may have had a horrible day, so rude comments are never appropriate.

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This article has 3 comments.


Kim Norris said...
on Jun. 5 2009 at 5:01 am
Kim Norris, Concord, California
0 articles 0 photos 4 comments
I wish the whole country could really understand that what African-Americans went through is EXACTLY what society is putting lesbians,gays,bisexuals, and transexuals through. I for one will not stand by while this happens! This is a great article.

on Jun. 4 2009 at 4:42 am
Hallie Messenger BRONZE, Bellingham, Washington
4 articles 0 photos 21 comments
Incredibly powerful article, i agree with you a 110%. You bring up very good points I was state my side, but never really have any support, but this is really a great piece of evidence to why it is so entirely wrong and how they are exactly like heterosexuals. (sorry run on sentence :])

Chrissy_L GOLD said...
on Jun. 1 2009 at 10:22 pm
Chrissy_L GOLD, Ramsey, New Jersey
13 articles 0 photos 66 comments

Favorite Quote:
An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind.

There are many forms of racism, forms that refer not to a person's ethnicity, but to a group in which they belong. Treating homosexuals as below us is no different than what the African-Americans endured a half-century ago. These racists try to hide behind the Bibal, but there are so many things wrong with that. The Bibal has one line mentioning homosexuality as "against God" (as if) and the Bibal was written by HUMANS over 2000 YEARS ago. God didn't write it, and FYI, times have changed. Get with the program people!