Griffin Speaks
GAY MARRIAGE
Whether we like it or not, there is a great possibility that gays will
be permitted to marry. That possibility has led me to examine my views
on homosexuality. When I first heard about the legalization of gay marriage
in other countries my response was "Lord have mercy!"
I was a freshman at Morehouse College when I met the first openly gay person. To my surprise he was an extremely intelligent and nice person. My thoughts about gay people prior to entering college were formulated based on what I read, saw on television or heard other people say. I believed that the worst thing that a man could become was a sissy!
During my sophomore year a friend of mine found himself rooming with a gay student. My friend was a poor kid on financial aid from rural Georgia. The gay student was from upper Manhattan, New York. The parents were wealthy. The gay student had the best of everything. He had a new BMW, the best stereo equipment and the finest clothes that money could buy.
One day I went to visit my friend in his dormitory room. It was the best looking dormitory room on campus. I looked at my friend and asked what it was like to live with an openly gay student? My friend looked at the stereo, looked at the picture of his roommate's BMW, looked at the closet full of designer clothes, then looked back at me. He said: "THEY SHOW KNOW HOW TO LIVE!"
As the years passed on I met more people that were gay. In fact every gay person that I knew at Morehouse College has died from AIDS. As student body president I treated everyone with respect. I finally began to believe that homosexuality is an immutable characteristic. Gay people do not choose to be gay. They are born gay. I have learned that you can never really know who they are unless they tell you. They are everywhere. Many of us have friends that are gay and we just are not aware of it. So I am always respectful to everyone.
The uproar about gay marriage is not about trying to stop two people of the same sex who want to formalize their relationship in the eyes of the law. Rather it is calling that formalization marriage. Yes, it's the word marriage that sends us all in a frenzy. If gay people could come up with another word for their union it would set better with everyone.
I agree with most people that marriage should be between a man and a woman. I challenge gay people to come up with an alternative way to formalize their union. Our society is not ready to turn loose the sacred institution of marriage. Just call it "TYING THE KNOTT!"
GREG GRIFFIN IS A FREE LANCE WRITER. YOU CAN READ HIS EARLIER ARTICLES BY LOGGING ON TO HIS WEBPAGE AT WWW.GREGGRIFFIN.COM
Greg Griffin is a freelance writer. He can be contacted at www.greggriffin.com
