As children, we are taught that Jack and Jill always “go up the hill” together. When we get… As children, we are taught that Jack and Jill always “go up the hill” together. When we get a little older, we learn that Ken always sweeps Barbie off her feet and they live happily ever after. However, the world we live in is not always as simple as nursery rhyme antics and fairy tale endings. Relationships cannot always be defined in traditional terms. Perhaps Barbie and Jill “will fetch the pail of water” and Jack and Ken will cruise around in the infamous pink convertible.

I understand that for many, gay marriage is a very divisive issue. It is one that is personal and intimate. As is the case with most political arguments, both sides are certain that theirs is the correct and only acceptable position. In writing this, I understand that there is another stance to be argued, and I respect the merits of that argument. My position on gay marriage is grounded in the laws of our country, the laws that have endured for centuries and reflect an evolving nation and the rights we fight to protect.

On July 9, 1868, a day that marks the occasion of a monumental task, the 40th United States Congress added the 14th amendment to the Constitution. A constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress as well as the approval of three quarters of the state legislatures, and, therefore, one must argue that a circumstance warranting an amendment to our nation’s most sacred and honored document is of immense and immediate importance.

This amendment, this day, has become a constant celebration of equality. The 14th amendment defines an American citizen. It also protects the rights of every citizen by mandating that “no state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person under its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

This amendment guarantees every American citizen “equal protection” from discrimination. It guarantees that it is the responsibility of the government to be certain that the laws protect all Americans equally.

There is not an asterisk or hidden text that only applies the law to those of a heterosexual nature. It is a very simple concept: If you are an American citizen, you may not be discriminated against.

In the course of modern American history, we have observed the presence and impact of this constitutional amendment. Throughout the late 19th century and the early decades of the 20th century, women fought for “equal protection.” Led by suffragettes such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, women refused to sit idly while a nation refused to recognize their equality. In 1920, women received the right to vote.

In the 1950s and 1960s, blacks faced segregation and the implications of separate but equal legislation. They were forced to sit in the back of the bus or to use water fountains tainted with labels that relegated American citizens to a second class. But in a country like America, justice must eventually prevail. Martin Luther King Jr. made known his dream for his “four small children to live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but the content of their character.” It is that character of nation that assures me that the work of all those people who fought for equality will not go unrewarded.

In our country, times change, and the government must recognize that change. I cannot support discrimination. I must stand with those who came before me and fight for equality. I must recognize a woman like Elizabeth Blackwell, who met confrontation head on to become the first woman to receive a medical degree. I must take my hat off and pay respect to men like Jackie Robinson, the first black person to play Major League Baseball.

If we do not fight to protect the rights of Americans that need to be protected, it will be at the price of history. The de-segregation of high schools in Little Rock, Ark., and the struggles championed by women like Rebecca Latimer Felton, the first female United States senator, will have been for nothing. We will have learned nothing from the generations of our ancestors. In a country where we constantly look to the future and talk of the wonders of generations to come, we will be forced to observe a government that endorses a policy of discrimination.

I am certain that state amendments banning gay marriage are wrong and that they deny law-abiding Americans a right that is theirs. And when I vote for my congressional representative, or even the next president, I am asking that freedom and democracy be upheld and that all Americans are protected equally under our laws.

E-mail Kimberly at [email protected].