Two hundred and thirty years ago, this nation embarked upon a bold experiment called democracy. The persons who engaged in discourse about this experiment were uncertain as to the full extent and scope of the rights which the document they signed would assure. They only knew that they valued a concept called "freedom" and that human beings had certain inalienable rights, among those being life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Eighty seven years ago, here in Tennessee, women were added to the list of members of our society who had full democratic rights and the privileges contained therein. Forty three years ago, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and declared that we are all God's children, brown, yellow, red and white and with his movement came the full realization of those rights that had been denied up to that point.
Thirty seven years ago, there was a riot in New York called the Stonewall Riot, this marked the beginning of the movement toward full rights for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered persons in this country. Among the rights denied to more than ten percent of our population include the right to marry, the right to adopt, the right to pass on property and the right of visitation.
The Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. said that no man is free unless we are all free. This is the spirit of the constitution which is the founding document of our nation. To deny this is to deny our own founding principles.
Labeling marriage as belonging to only a specific class of citizens is no less egregious than disallowing slaves to have freedom or denying women the right to vote. When this nation decides to bequest citizenship on its members, it has a responsibility to provide those individuals with all the rights and privileges guaranteed therein. To deny those rights is to deny ourselves.
Americans should be proud of our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters. Not only are they citizens of this country, but they also contribute to this experiment in so many ways. Rather than denying them their rights or using this group to gain political advantage, we should be embracing them and supporting them in their quest for the same rights we have already. No human being is lessened by having freedom. Let us give all of our citizens their full rights and live out this bold experiment we call democracy.
I support the right to civil unions for all gays and lesbians. I support full and equal rights for all gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgendered, intersexed and questioning. I do not support any law which discriminates against gays and lesbians in the rights of adoption, spousal visit, inheritance, or any of the 700 other rights guaranteed to heterosexual couples.
