Same-sex marriage press/attention

This has been on my mind for a while, so I wanted to put it out there and see what other people think.

I've been thinking about the same-sex marriage issue and how much press/attention it's been getting in recent months. I don't claim to know everything about the LGBT rights movement, but it seems like LGBT rights organizations have given much more attention to same-sex marriage than to other issues such as employment/housing discrimination or hate crimes legislation. Given this perception on my part, I vehemently disagree with how much attention same-sex marriage is getting compared to the latter two issues. It is my opinion that, while same-sex marriage in all states would grant a whole slew of rights and benefits to LGBT people in committed relationships, it would only have an immediate effect on that particular subset of the LGBT population. By contrast, passing federal legislation such as ENDA (Employment Non-Discrimination Act) and strengthening federal hate crimes laws would immediately benefit ALL LGBT people, not just those in stable, committed relationships ready to marry. Some may see my view as selfish, and some may say equal marriage rights are just as important as more basic civil rights. I'm not currently in a committed relationship, so I wouldn't immediately benefit from the right to marry. Would I like the right to marry, no matter what state I live in? Yes, I most certainly would. But how would my gaining the right to marry benefit me if I can be legally fired from my job for being gay and/or be beaten by a bunch of thugs (again, simply for who I love) who would only get a slap on the wrist from a judge? Seriously, more than a few people in this country (including judges) still think beating up (or even worse, killing) a gay person is like beating up a dog. Just look at the case of Sean Kennedy in SC (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_W._Kennedy). That could have been any one of us. Cases such as this one make my blood boil. I mean, just a few weeks ago, I was standing in the parking lot of my apartment complex with the guy I was on a date with, about to kiss him, and he said to me "You know, we should really go inside. I like PDA's and all, but I don't want to end up getting shot.":eek: What good is the right to marry if you can be legally fired from your job (hence, losing your means of survival) and/or get beaten up/killed without much subsequent consequence? :evil:

 

Thank you for your reply. Actually, they're not in all states- especially hate crimes legislation. I know for a fact that in states like MA, employment discrimination based on sexual orientation is illegal; I'm not sure about their hate crimes laws. However, the state I currently live in (NC) has no employment discrimination laws that include sexual orientation (let alone gender identity) and it's the same with their hate crimes laws. Go to http://www.ncgala.org/ for more info. South Carolina (the state the Sean Kennedy was killed in) has no hate crimes legislation at all; that's why his killer got the minimum sentence.

 

Thanks for the replies thus far. Although I strongly believe in what I said, I'll respect other people's viewpoints-even if they differ from my own.

 

Ok, you have a point. Maybe I shouldn't have used that exact analogy- seeing as I love dogs myself and had one for years as a kid. I was only trying to state that there are some people out there who view harming LGBT people as much less of a crime compared to harming a heterosexual person. In other words, those people think of us as less than human when it comes to equal treatment under the law.