Homosexuality

Growing up, my mother always taught me that despite our difference, all human beings deserve the same amount of respect and dignity. I really took that to heart. Despite being straight, I feel very strongly about gay rights and having gone to a Catholic all girls high school I was surrounded by some very closed minded people and often had to stand for my peers that had no one else to stand up for them, even if that meant just fighting for them in a discussion. Growing up and attending religious schools I got very mixed messages, hearing from my mom that everyone is equal yet hearing from my teachers that being gay is a damnable sin was hard. However, I always knew in my heart what was right. Being gay is not a choice, and people who think that it is are ignorant and uneducated. Why on earth would anyone choose to be part of the minority that is most discriminated against at this time in history? To read that article and see the stories of children who were mistreated or undefended by their teachers, the people who are supposed to be nurturing them, made me cry. But, I see these tragic instances so much. Children, teenagers, and adults committing suicide because they feel unaccepted and unloved by the society they have to live in everyday and being murdered for being “fags” and partaking in “disgusting” sexual acts. The fact that people only see gay people as the sexual acts they partake in is despicable. Do people look at a straight couple and automatically see their sexual acts? No. I understand that everyone was raised differently, taught different values, and engrained with specific beliefs, however, as a teacher, it is your sole job to make every single one of your students, white, black, gay, straight, transgender, etc. feel safe which should allow them to have the same opportunity to succeed. You don’t have to be gay, support gay marriage, or be a liberal to treat your gay students with equal respect. As far as teaching children what it means to be gay, I think it is crucial and the earlier the better. The more and the sooner teachers, teach tolerance the better our world will be. There will always be people for and against things, thats an undeniable and sad fact. However, treating people equally should be an unarguable act. I have had some very