A friend and I were walking in the mall yesterday and I stopped at the water fountain to get a drink. He was a bit nervous to take a drink, but I assured him that I would keep and eye out and let him get a quick refreshing drink of water.

See the problem is that my friend is a homosexual.

We weren't sure, since the laws have been changed, whether he was supposed to drink from a separate water fountain. Luckily, I also drove so there wasn't any trepidation about taking public transportation and where exactly he'd be forced to sit.

I wonder who's going to stand up from the homosexual community and tell people that they're not going to sit at the back of the bus. That they're not going to drink from separate fountains. They're not going to be told that what they feel is wrong because some people have the misguided notion that marriage is only between a man and a woman.

People are now arguing that the discrimination against homosexuals isn't the same as the discrimination towards African Americans over the course of our history. The defense is that African Americans didn't have a choice but to be born black.

Not only is this offensive to every homosexual man and woman who never had a choice about who they love, but rather just loved. It's also a disgusting way of characterizing the struggle of African Americans in our society.

At a time when our nation has opened its arms to our first black president, we're also jumping in a DeLorean and heading back to 1955 where discrimination and bigotry were commonplace.

It goes along with the culture of fear that has been instilled in our society over the past 100 years and hammered into our heads over the past 10 years since 9/11.

We are to fear everything and not stop shopping. Keep your eyes open because someone, even your neighbor could be a terrorist. Go to the mall, but be on the lookout for suspicious individuals. Fly around the country and see our nations beautiful sights, but don't bring hair gel or nail clippers on the plane. We're not worried about you, but rather the terrorist who is planning on taking over the plane with nail clippers or blowing it up with an aerosol can filled with explosives. Don't forget that the peanuts and soda is complimentary and that if you let men marry men, then your husband will soon be leaving you for another man.

This country was founded on the idea that all men were created equal and that they all reserve the right to decide what is right and wrong in their own lives. It wasn't to promote lawlessness, but rather to give people the choice to live as they desired.

It's freedom.

Today, people in America equate freedom and democracy. The problem with that is that democracy does allow you the freedom to choose, but it's a majority rule. It's a way of living where you can control a portion of the population by securing one more vote than the person who opposes you.

(The obvious exception to this rule is Florida, where you need a 60% approval in order to make changes. Ironically, the bill to change the percentage needed to approve changing the state constitution only received 57% of the vote.) 

The United States should be about granting and protecting the rights of her citizens, not taking them away.

Imagine that you spend 20 years with the person who you know to be the love of your life. Now imagine that person is in a car accident and is unconscious, in a hospital, about to die, and you're not allowed to see them. You're not allowed to hold their hand and let them feel your love as they die. You're not allowed to kiss them on the cheek and tell them how much they've meant to you over the years. You're not allowed to wrap your arms around them and tell them how much you love them and how much you will carry their spirit with you for the rest of your life.

My father is a Vietnam War veteran. He's 63 years old and it's safe to say that he's set in his ways. He's seen the good and bad of mankind. He's seen more than I would ever want to or could ever dream of. His beliefs are set in stone and there isn't a chance that I would be able to make him change his mind. One of the greatest things my father said to me was that he might not agree with what I have to say, but as an American, he would fight to his death for my right to say it.

That's the beauty of the American people.

You don't have to agree with what your neighbor does, but you should stand up and proudly defend their right to do as they choose.

I will stand as long as I have to, so that my friend may drink as much as much as he might possibly want. I will give my seat on the bus so that he can sit. I will fight anyone who wants to fight his freedom to choose who he loves and spends his life with.