Recent victories in the gay community seem to have only increased existing homophobia lately.

Rather than being accepted as they should be, those who are gay are merely tolerated by the majority of the population. It’s rather sad that we have not yet reached the point where they can be accepted as regular members of society. Instead, they continue to stand out as “strange.”

And why must they be called “gay” rights? Gay people are not special cases deserving of special rights. They are human beings and thus deserve the same rights anyone else under normal circumstances would get.

What is it that makes the gay lifestyle prone to such widespread ridicule, anyway? Heterosexuals behave in so-called “questionable” ways on a regular basis, and yet we are free to live our lives the way we want to. Why is that? And is it right?

Before the Civil Rights Movement, the fear was that if African Americans were given the same rights as white people, then surely they would take over the world. This is what led to the segregation of these two groups: the thought that somehow, allowing black people and white people to mingle would contaminate the system, and there would be rebellion. In reality, what caused the rebellion was not giving them those rights in the first place.

During this time, black men were warned not to even look at a white woman because of the consequences it could have on their livelihood. Not only did a woman have the right to condemn him for simply looking at her, he could also be put to death for doing so.

While the situation is not nearly as severe today, similar fears are being echoed as the Gay Rights Movement is making efforts to stabilize itself in the modern American psyche. With gay marriage under the gun lately, some people worry that if it were to be made legal throughout all fifty states, it would be a threat to the heterosexual family dynamic.

This is a popular misconception. The truth is that most gay families have the same if not better family values than most heterosexual families. The child receives the same love he or she would get from parents of different sexes, and many children raised this way grow up leading perfectly normal, healthy lives. They do not become gay simply because their parents are gay. If they do, it most likely is the result of other contributing factors and not their home life.

In November 2003, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court declared that to “deny protections, benefits and obligations conferred by civil marriage” to gay couples violates the constitution because it denies “the dignity and equality of all individuals” and makes them “second-class citizens.” It makes perfect sense, but people were opposed to it because it went against the norm.

All the gay community needs is time and patience – and a strong will to push on through adversity. Denying gays the same rights we ourselves enjoy is a form of discrimination like any other, and yet there is still a chance denying their marriage could be made law. I encourage anyone who is opposed to this to speak up and voice an opinion on it. You don’t have to be gay to support those who are.

Columns reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily that of the Northern Star staff.