Kansas is a politically-conservative red state and is run by some of the most close-minded Republicans in the country. These are the same Republicans that made it illegal for grade schools to learn about evolution, making us the laughing stock of the United States. The same Republicans that are wanting to close down Planned Parenthood venues because they provide women with choices. 

The fact of the matter is we are no longer in the 1950s when men were powerful and women were supposed to back their husbands. That right there is the problem: women backing their husbands. Religions aside, why not allow women to have wives and men to have husbands? There is a large gay community in Wichita as there is across the United States, but only nine states have passed a law allowing homosexuals to get married? 

I realize that more states are opening up to the idea and that it will take a long time to get there, but Kansas needs to be proactive about it and not the stubborn red state that always says no. In order to make a move in the right direction, Gov. Sam Brownback needs to be voted out of office and replaced with someone who has a brain.

Allowing gay people to be married does not take away any benefits for heterosexual people. It simply allows two people to unite in love and receive the same benefits heterosexual couples enjoy. Benefits upon losing a spouse are one of the main reasons homosexuals want the opportunity to get marry. It is not that they want to step on any toes or make it uncomfortable for those around them; they simply want to make sure their families are taken care of if something happens to them. That’s not punishable by law is it? There is no need to discriminate against people for wanting the same freedoms everyone else in America has. 

Surprisingly enough, it would be cheaper for America if it allowed equal opportunity for marriage for all. Economists estimate that ending the exclusion of equal marriage could save the government at least $1 billion. This proves that the argument against equality of marriage rights is strictly religious. 

The sanctity of marriage comes from a more religious aspect, yet are we not supposed to separate church and state? Brownback and his hoo-haws in the Kansas House and Senate are so opposed to gay marriage that they refuse to consider the fact that gay couples could contribute more in taxes and in society than he does. 

The only law we have going for us in Kansas is that of non-discrimination when applying for a job. Employers are not supposed to discriminate for race, color, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, religion, etc.…yet lesbians and gay men are not allowed to have the same benefits as heterosexual couples? 

The Constitution even states that the right to marry belongs to us all. Relationships do not see gender as a problem, and there should not be a law restricting them from union. In fact, denying them the right to legally marry the person they love is only showing how unsupportive America is to diversity, and how the government is taking advantage of their power. 

Personally, I don’t care if Kansas ever passes a law allowing gays to be married, but I won’t get married myself until that happens. In fact, I will march against every anti-gay movement. Every year, Topeka holds the National Fag March around the Phelps’ house to support equal rights for homosexuals. I vow to march with them. 

We live in America where certain rights and freedoms are supposed to be equal for every citizen. If we continue to exclude homosexuals from equal marriage rights, we may as well quit calling ourselves the land of the free and accept that our government is leaning more toward exclusion.