'Gay rights' are simply basic human rights deserved by all

"A state cannot so deem a class of persons a stranger to its laws."

This statement was a banner hailed by gay rights activists and constitutional scholars alike. It was issued by the Supreme Court of the United States in response to the Colorado 2nd Amendment, which made it illegal for the state to prohibit discrimination against homosexuals.

The Supreme Court argued that the Constitution provides for the equal protection and equal opportunity for all the citizens of the United States. Regardless of whether one likes us, and regardless of whether one approves of our relationships, we all have the same basic rights provided by our state and national constitutions.

The reason that I mention this decision is because it came to my attention that there is a bill being introduced into the Arizona State Legislature that will, in effect, prohibit homosexuals from participating in state sponsored athletics and will restrict state funds that are appropriated for organizations that aid or support any group other than heterosexuals. This includes high school athletics and extra-curricular activities, college and university activities, and organizations that promote safe sex education for gays and lesbians. But this is a direct violation of federal law and Arizona's own policy of non-discrimination for state supported institutions.

Last year, a Salt Lake school board banned all extra-curricular activities after a student petitioned to start a gay and lesbian youth group at her high school. The school board had first decided to ban gay youth groups, but rather than risk a lawsuit under the Federal Access Act, they shut down all other programs as well.

Similarly, such legislation being introduced into the Arizona State Legislature is likewise in violation of the FEAA. The legislation restricts one "class of persons" from having the same access to state supported institutions that heterosexual take for granted. This is comparable to restricting individuals from activities based upon race or gender - all of which is morally and politically repugnant.

The proposed bill further countermands the non-discrimination policy that the state of Arizona and the Board of Regents have instituted among state-sponsored schools. The University of Arizona Affirmative Actions Statement reads that "The University prohibits discrimination on the basis of age, color, disability, ethnicity, gender, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, or veteran's status ..." The university, and the state of Arizona as a whole, has been moving forward to reduce discrimination against all its students and citizens.

To support legalized discrimination is to fly in the face of everything that we have been told about the greatness of the United States Constitution and the protection of the citizens of the United States by our government.

I don't ask for anyone to agree or even condone our relationships. I don't ask for you to renounce your own beliefs, I just ask that you be consistent in those beliefs - help protect my right, the same rights that allow you to hold and practice your own beliefs.