Political Parties

Link: Gay Rights, Same Sex Marriage Cause Political Strife In U.S.

Summary: The same sex, gay rights battle has been being fought between conservatives and liberals for at least 30 years. John Boehner, The Speaker of the House, issued a statement that he is trying to find legal ways to maintain DOMA (The defense of marriage act), which specifies that a legal union can only be between a man and a woman and no same sex couples. President Obama has agreed that DOMA is not constitutional because it violates the equal protection component of the Fifth Amendment. 

Relevance: We learned that political ideologies differ from person to person. Conservative ideologies are typically part of the republican party, who believe in small government and strong traditional morals. Liberal ideologies are typically part of the democratic parties. Liberals believe that the government should be able to handle most public services, and have think equality for everyone is essential. Typically republicans are against gay rights, and democrats are not. However, recently people are straying away from political parties and becoming more moderate, thus supporting parts of both ideologies. Some republicans support gay rights, while some democrats don't. It's all just a matter of preference. We learned that ideology typically gets embedded into one through their early family life. If one grows up in a conservative family, they most likely go to church, and have strong family values. In a liberal family, the child often is allowed to experiment with their ideologies and figure out what they think for themselves, still influenced by their family. 

Opinion: I think that gay rights should be available to everyone. There is no problem with it. People have different things that make them happy, and equality is supposed to be guaranteed to everyone in the United States. I believe we should live up to the constitution and make unions of every type available to anyone who wants them. Personally, I'm not gay, but I do not believe that it will cause any harm to the moral fabric that some claim it will. People should be able to do whatever makes them happy.