Controversy! Woot!

So this week we read about controversy, and since I’m bored with advertisements, I’m going to give my two cents on some hot issues that have Americans talking these days.

Gay Marriage:

            Why not? What’s so wrong about it? As far as I’m concerned, I haven’t heard a single, valid argument that proves same-sex marriage is perilous to the United States. Well, I haven’t heard any arguments that didn’t hide behind religion. Many of these Republicans and conservatives that oppose gay marriage are backed by religious-right groups and only state religious reasons for their political actions. Under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, this is not acceptable in American politics and I don’t see why they can’t see that. I have a friend who is fairly conservative and he said that he doesn’t support gay marriage only because it’s not what the word means. Please. Words change all the time (I won’t go into details because I’m lazy). Also, marriage itself is viewed differently, culture by culture; some people have more than one wife/husband even though it’s not as usual as a union between one man and one woman.

            I don’t really understand why Republicans are so caught up on this issue. Instead trying to figure out a way to make health care affordable (they complain about Obamacare… what’s their suggestion?), or bringing jobs back to American soil (because “job creators” are so reliable on that), they are trying to fix social issues that have no effect on the well being of the country.

Abortion:

            I don’t like it, but that doesn’t mean that it should be illegal, at least not during the first trimester. By this time, a woman should be able to decide whether to keep the fetus or not if she is at all questioning it; however, in cases of incest and rape, there should be no restrictions on a woman’s right to choose. But then again, I am not a woman, so I have no credibility to voice my opinion on the matter. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: this is a woman’s issue. It’s not a politician’s and not even the government’s.

Immigration:

            Immigrants built this country, and it’s dumb to forget that fact. This is why we should welcome anyone who wants to live here by giving illegal immigrants a way to gain citizenship instead of threatening them with deportation.

Medical Marijuana:

            There have been studies that prove that marijuana does have some beneficial properties for people with certain medical conditions. If people have good reasons for using marijuana for medical purposes, I have no problem with it. In fact, I support the legalization of marijuana with government regulation (similar as with alcohol). Not only would it cut crime rates, but also drug cartels and drug rings would die off because of lack of business. Plus, think of how much tax money the government could make from marijuana sales. A lot of people have a bad image of marijuana because of the perceived health risks involved, but the fact is, no one has ever died from an overdose, nor have any non-chronic users developed health issues from it. You know what’s a lot worse for people? Alcohol… people have been known to overdose on alcohol and that’s legal. Cigarettes are legal as well, even though there’s a strong connection between those and lung cancer. Let’s get away from rumors and misperceptions and look at the facts.

Contraception:

            It prevents the spread of STDs/STIs and it prevents unwanted pregnancy. Sounds pretty good to me! It should be taught in schools because kids are kids and they’re going to do what they’re going to do. I don’t believe an abstinence-only curriculum is effective because it doesn’t recognize that fact. Over 50% of people between the ages of 18 and 25 said that they have tried marijuana at least once in 2004 and that number is growing, and they have been told to not do it at all numerous times by schools. Just telling people to not have sex at all does not work. Yes, I know that the only 100% effective way to not get pregnant/contract an STD is to not have sex. Duh. But if I’m feeling stupid enough to try it anyway, I should probably know about the next best option.

            On the question of whether birth control should be covered by insurance companies, I believe it should. Besides from being a contraceptive, birth control pills can be an effective medication for certain health conditions. So, for the sake of health, not contraception, insurance companies should cover “the pill.”

Wow. This is a long post… so I’ll stop here. If you want to read more of my ranting, go to my passion blog. If you want, you can even start an argument with me! Those are always fun. :)