WE ARE ALL EQUAL Kianna Kelley

Morals and ethics are basic principles that make people who they are. These are two things that I, we as a society hold near and dear to our heart. It is often what we were brought up on and have a firm belief in.

These two things tend to be sensitive subjects to people and can often land a person in a sticky uncomfortable situation, like a fly getting caught in a spider web fighting for its life. We feel the need to fight for what we believe in because it’s what we perceive as right, even if fighting means we’re stuck in an uneasy place for a short or extended period of time.

I remember a few years back when I went to my first gay pride event in Norfolk, Virginia. It was held in a huge park with tents for various activities such as: photo booths, dancing, face painting, and multiple booths advertising their alcoholic beverages. There were a series of performances by drag queens singing their favorite hits like “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga. There was also a parade but instead of having trailers there were boats in the harbor that were decorated with rainbow boas, balloons, streamers, and paint all in vibrant arrays of colors.

But even with all the wonderful festivities of the parade, there were still people who wanted to ruin it. Protesters were spread throughout the park with giant scroll like signs, most of which held some kind of account on how homosexuals were going to be damned to hell due to the “sins” that they committed.

They shouted slurs and also preached sermons on how homosexuality was a sin and how God did not intend for man to lie down with man or woman with woman. It amazed me how people could take an event that was designed to uplift, encourage, and support people to be who they are and not to be afraid of judgment and make it into a church service bashing people for feelings that they could not control.

. So me, being the “all men were created equal and deserve the same rights”, person that I am approached the protesters with innocent intent. My first order of business was not to go with my gut instinct and cuss them out for inappropriately showing their faces at such a happy and joyful event. But rather to take a picture, to capture the hatred in a photo and mock them all over the internet like they were mocking the innocent people all over the streets of Norfolk.

The protestors didn’t seem to mind the pictures the pictures very much, some of them even smiled as if they were getting paid to be there. Huge pearly white grins with seemingly straight teeth, the crooked message hidden behind them perfectly.

My next order of business was to ask a simple question that would hopefully evoke an honest and heartfelt response, my question was “why?” A simple three letter word that could mean an array of things. Why did they choose this event? Why did they feel so strongly about this matter? Why did they interpret the bible in such a way? Why offend people who weren’t out to offend them? My question caused their pearly whites to take a back seat behind the sneering that took over their mouths. Such a question must not have been asked in such a peaceful manner before. The responses I got varied due to the way my three letter question was asked but till this day one response still sticks out to me. It came from a man much larger than me in length and in width, but with a voice as tender and sweet as a child speaking its first words. W H Y ?

He interpreted my question as “Why do I feel so strongly about this matter?” and his response was as follows, “I was brought up to believe that God created two genders for a reason, so that they could reproduce and make more of God’s children and two people with the same parts can’t do that. Lab babies don’t count and if you ain’t push it out yourself it ain’t yours. Man was created to love and woman and woman was created to love a man and love just doesn’t work any other way.”

This statement took me aback because those were not the values that were instilled in me. Although I could understand where he was coming from as a person of faith I just could not agree. Love is love no matter which way you toss it up or shake it around, the same why a mother can love her daughter is the same way a woman can love her wife.

I have seen my sister fall more in love with her girlfriend day after day and not a single naysayer in this world can tell me same sex love does not exist. The protester tried his hardest to change my mind that summer day but after bearing witness to something so beautiful I could never believe otherwise.