For years, same sex marriages have been a controversial subject in the U.S. In recent months the issue has exploded on the limelight. Everybody is talking about it! Religious organizations, Gay Rights Advocates, the Left, the Right and everybody in between has their own agenda as to this topic.

President Bush has even publicly spoken out on his personal views and how he wishes to pass a federal law prohibiting same sex marriages.

In Texas, voting on Proposition 2, a state amendment officially declaring that the only marriage that would be recognized was that between one man and one woman, took place on Nov. 8. It was speculated that the results of this proposition were going to have national implications on how far this issue would go.

This prospective amendment had many on the rise. Numerous gay rights advocates were outraged at the idea of it being on the ballot and the possibility of same sex marriages being officially declared illegal in one of the U.S.’s biggest and most influential states.

As for my own opinion, I am firmly against the proposition. A marriage should be between two individuals who want to share their lives, regardless of their sex. It amazes me that this proposition managed to pass with a 76 percent approval rate. I also find it hard to believe that only an estimated 456,992 Texans are in support of same sex marriages. Even more, it has astonished many people that in Maine a law protecting homosexuals was quickly passed, while here in Texas, it was the complete opposite.

What a difference an estimated 2,000 miles can make.

I, along with many other people, believe that by making this law we are codifying discrimination into law. With this new law as well as the 1996’s Defense of Marriage Act no state has to legally recognize same sex marriages.

What angers me even more is that this issue has even affected the terminology found in our textbooks. Several Texas school boards charged that proposed new books ran counter to this new Texas law because they used terms such as “married partners” instead of stating “husband and wife” and using terms such as “when two people marry” instead of “when a man and a woman marry”.

I believe this is taking it to the extreme. Just because in Texas same sex marriages are not recognized doesn’t mean we have to completely do away with any terminology that would recognize it.

Times are changing and society should accept that. Homosexuality has been recognized and accepted in other nations for centuries.

Why is it that in the U.S., one of the most sexually open nations, it is still a taboo to be a homosexual?