Gays Freedom
...eft to defend the existing social structure. The integration of the U.S. Army and public schools in the 1950s made it increasingly evident that the culture of separation could not last much longer. While playing legal games to postpone school integration, Southerners fought tooth and nail to defend the last legislative bastions of their racism, including prohibitions on interracial marriages. Forcing states to recognize interracial marriages would further a dangerous amalgamation of black and white cultures, leading to the eventual downfall of society, they feared. Even the Bible was invoked to defend segregation. It was a culture war, and the segregationists saw themselves as God's warriors. In that sense, the movement to prohibit gay marriages mirrors the laws against interracial marriages. Homophobia, like racism, has no objective basis. Rather, it stems from deep within the Christian belief system (though it is important to note not all Christians find a prohibition of homosexuality in the Bible). Advocates of the Defense of Marriage Act, like defenders of interracial marriage laws, fear the tacit approval marriage would give gay couples will hasten the decline of America into a godless nation. There is a culture war brewing, they feel, and again they are God's warriors. What they fail to recognize is that by giving the state power to determine which marriages are legitimate and which are not, "God's warriors" pose a greater threat to their own free practice of religion than any other this century. Marriage is, at its heart, a covenant between two individuals sanctioned by God. As previously noted, not all Christians believe homosexuality is a sin. Therefore, some ministers and denominations have no prohibiti...