In the February 26 edition of the UP, a letter to the editor was written about incidents of Lambda United fliers put up on campus by the Gay/Straight Alliance, being torn down after being displayed for only one day. Besides being a borderline hate crime, actions like this cause me to realize that I have to live in a world with ignorant people. Homosexuals, bisexuals, transgenders and anyone else who could be considered outside of the norm have always and will continue to exist among us. A more difficult life is created for everyone when difference is shunned.

Hating someone due to his or her sexual preference is sad, but also self-limiting. By ignoring as a result of not knowing, people only deny themselves knowledge. Hate is imprudent.

Within United States society the dream of happiness and love often goes hand in hand with marriage and that house with two dogs in the front yard. But at the same time the majority of the states will not legally allow that dream to be a reality if you are gay. A Federal Marriage Amendment, which would permit same-sex marriages within the U.S., has been proposed by various people within this country to become part of our constitution. During a speech supporting the possible amendment, Bob Laird, Director of the Office for Family Life for the Catholic Diocese of Arlington Virginia, said: “These reforms are designed to help restore a culture of intact families in the United States.” Love, trust and support should be enough for any family to be considered intact, not what the parents’ genitals consist of.

Evolution forces change. Just as parents don’t need to have lots of children to help tend to the farm, marriage (and sex also) has moved past being only about procreation. Nowadays many couples do not even want to have kids, which greatly differs from the way it once was when they often needed to have them.

Whether a person is gay or straight is really irrelevant, when judging their character.