Gay Marriage and Flag Desecration Amendments

Like most Americans these days, I rarely find myself approving of my country’s legislature. Lately, however, I’ve found cause to give a nod to what the Senate’s been up to. Two amendments, penned by the radical right in complete disregard for citizens’ right, were struck down in June, and I, for one, couldn’t be happier.

The first was, not surprisingly, a proposed amendment to the Constitution to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that this is aimed at preventing the next big trend in civil rights, namely, gay marriage.

I’ve stated my opinions on gay marriage before, but they’re definitely worth reiterating. Whatever the conservatives want to say on the issue, there is no evidence to suggest that a gay family unit is any better or worse than a typical family unit. Given that arguments to that effect are bogus and backwards, banning gay marriage is just plain discriminatory. Now, I wouldn’t say I’m in favor of gay marriage, but I acknowledge that there is no good reason to prohibit it. I’m positive that, in a few decades, it will enjoy the same sanctity as the African American and women’s rights movements with which it shares so much in common.

The other amendment was aimed at banning flag burning. It, like the gay marriage amendment, was concocted by Republicans to rally votes for their upcoming reelections. Thankfully, it shared the same fate.

I very much doubt you’ll ever see me burning a flag or even attending a function at which that sort of thing occurs. Still, there is no debating that this country was founded on protest. Let me say that again. The United States of America was founded by people protesting an unfair form of government. I think Michael Douglas’ character in “The American President” put it best when he said:

You want free speech? Let’s see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil who is standing center stage advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours. You want to claim this land as the land of the free, then the symbol of your country can’t just be a flag. The symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest. Now show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then you can stand up and sing about the land of the free.

So, to those who would argue that the flag is the symbol of our nation, I say burning it is an act equally symbolic of our nation’s values. Our freedom of speech isn’t something that should be tossed around or belittled to garnish a few extra votes, and the proponents of this amendment should be ashamed for having done so.

Again, I’m thrilled that these amendments were struck down as they deserved to be. Unfortunately, they didn’t die as soundly as I would’ve hoped. The flag desecration amendment fell just one vote short of passage, and proponents of both vowed to continue pursuing them. If our politicians started respecting citizens’ rights and stopped cowtowing to homophobes and self-proclaimed “patriots,” the amendments should have received no support whatsoever.

I’ve talked before about change being necessary to the growth and survival of a nation. America is certainly a much different place than it was three centuries ago. Still, I can’t imagine living in an America where this sort of backwards thinking is allowed to become law. I only hope the political power flows back into saner hands soon, or else you might find me moving to Canada.