David Delgado//The Daily Cougar

Although the younger generation seems to be open-minded when it comes to the LGBT community, there is still work to be done. Every day, people are persecuted both publicly and privately for whom they love. The fight for gay rights is one in the making, and frankly, there is no logical argument against gay marriage or the LGBT community as a whole.

“Honestly, I would tell them to wake up,” said Chris Haight, a graduate student studying LGBT history, when asked what he would say to LGBT critics.

“Regardless of one’s religious views on sexual orientation or gender identity, it is not appropriate in a secular civil society to use those views to stand in the way of civil rights that constitutionally should be available to all citizens.”

Political science freshman Ty Hughes elaborated on this opinion on those whose ignorance causes them to become consumed with hatred. “That is for God to decide, not them,” he said.

Politicians who are socially conservative claim that the “homosexual agenda” is ruining this country and that this is a horror movie that needs to be stopped.

By the way, another word for “homosexual agenda” is “equality.”

“It makes me sad that people see anybody as less deserving of basic human rights,” said Lorraine Schroeder, director of the LGBT Resource Center.

Occasionally, and sadly, most of this persecution comes from inside the home, coming from one’s own parents. When asked to give advice to parents who are conflicted about having an LGBT child, Schroeder said, “Love your child. Don’t take out your fear on your child — it could have negative consequences.”

Schroeder would also advise a parent or child to check out Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. Its Houston chapter is very prominent, and there is also help right here on the UH campus — our LGBT Resource Center is worth visiting.

One of the main reasons unaccepting parents are upset with their child is because they are afraid of what others might think. However, the love for your child should trump the views of judgmental individuals. Being gay is not a choice, but stone-cold, ruthless judgment is.

While the struggle for equality seems like an unachievable dream for some people, in reality, this country as a whole has made progress. “This is a southern city that, in 1985, saw a successful anti-gay campaign to repeal basic anti-discrimination protections for gay and lesbian city workers at the ballot box and a mayoral candidate who remarked that his AIDS plan was to ‘shoot the queers,’” Haight said.

Haight references Mayor Annise Parker to show the progress made. “The fact that, 25 years later, that same city elected a lesbian mayor is rather remarkable when you think about it,” he said.

Major politicians are not the only people making a difference.

“Anybody who understands basic polling and demographic data knows that marriage equality and other LGBT civil rights advances are inevitable,” Haight said.

However, our generation is not finished with its progress. Historians should look back on this generation and speak well about how we stood up for what was morally right.

While some say that being gay is morally wrong and that God is the reasoning behind it, it should be established that one of the Ten Commandments was to “love thy neighbor.’ One can assume that it was meant to love all thy neighbors — not just the heterosexual ones.

We were all born a certain way – some tall, some short, some gay and some straight. Even though your body and sexuality are given to you at birth, one thing you are not born with is the idea that someone is less of an individual than you just because of their sexuality.

Whether you like it or not, human rights is something important to talk about, and there is no excuse for denying someone their basic civil right – the right to love.

Opinion columnist Blake Mudd is a journalism freshman and may be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com

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“Anti-gay agenda ruins progress city, nation have made” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar