No matter what your opinion on the issue of the legalization of same-sex marriage, it is an undeniable fact that countless lives have been and still are negatively affected by the anti-gay legal status quo.

According to U.S. law, it is illegal to marry someone of the same sex in all 50 states. Without the fundamental right of marriage, homosexual couples are not only denied the social acceptance that exists within the institution of marriage, but also are denied a multitude of basic legal rights. These denied rights include, but are not limited to, hospital visitation rights, shared health insurance and tax benefits.

In essence, the laws regulate homosexuals to a second-class status. We agree with Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., who said, “All couples, regardless of sexual orientation, who take on the responsibilities of a committed, long-term relationship, should have the same basic rights and protection under law.”

We are advocates for gay marriage because no American should face discrimination on the foundation of who she or he chooses to marry.

Thousands of gay couples around the country have shown their support for a proposed law in Massachusetts, which would grant homosexuals the right to marry. These supporters hope similar changes will be made regarding marital rights in their own state.

About four million people in the United States identify themselves as being gay, which is why this population needs to be represented on the political scope. To allow homosexuals the same inalienable rights that heterosexuals already have, the United States would progress as a country that truly did attempt to create equal rights for its citizens.

This is not the first time the government has interfered with the freedom of a couple’s right to marry. Less than 40 years ago, many states prohibited interracial couples from legally marrying.

In the Supreme Court case, Loving v. Virginia (1967), a married interracial couple in Virginia was arrested and faced up to five years in prison for violating the state’s antimiscegenation law. The state court deemed interracial marriages “unnatural” and found the Loving couple guilty on a biblical interpretive basis. In January of 1959, a Virginia Circuit Court judge ruled:

“Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, malay and red, and he placed them on separate continents. And but for the interference with his arrangement there would be no cause for such marriages. The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix.”

Similar Bible-based arguments are used against recognizing same-sex marriages today. But should the well-being of four million Americans rest on such feeble biblical grounds? After all, the issue of homosexuality is only mentioned a few times, unclearly, throughout the Bible. It is important to us to be cognizant of the fact that no person or religion has a monopoly on truth.

History has proven it a moot point to attempt to infer that anyone’s belief system is in any way superior to another’s. By no means are we disrespecting religious doctrines that have founded traditions for centuries. However, we must move past the religious taboos of the fundamentalist Christian community and focus on the advancement of gay rights.

Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Penn., and many others argue that legalizing same-sex marriages will threaten family values in the country. These are just biased, unfounded claims. There has yet to be any unbiased scientific studies that prove these claims to be true.

Marriage is a fundamental right. Our state, local and national governments need to ratify marriage laws to include same-sex marriages.

Next week is the Fifth Annual Human Rights Awareness Conference at UW-Eau Claire. The Student Life & Diversity Commission of Student Senate is hosting a variety of events, including a “Lunch Talk” about the Massachusetts law at noon Tuesday in The Cabin. Please feel free to attend and share your views.

We hope the information we have presented you will cultivate reflection and insight regarding same-sex marriage.

Huftel is a junior political science and public relations major. Taddonio is a junior kinesiology major. Both are freelance columnists for The Spectator.