By Brianna Spause
Special Features Editor

It affects millions of supposedly equal Americans. It will go down as the defining civil rights issue of our generation. Millions of men and women all over the nation suffer the oppression caused by the federal ban on same-sex marriage. 2013 has been an eventful year for the gay community; hopefully it precedes steps in the right direction.
Delaware, Minnesota and Rhode Island have made the leap of faith and decided to allow same-sex marriage. As of May 13 there are 12 states that grant all of their citizens marriage equality, including Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont, Washington and the District of Columbia.
Notice a pattern? The east coast is seemingly more liberal than their neighbors out west. The power of mainstream media was able to prevail in helping the debate cross the country with a little help of Seattle born hip-hop artists, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.
The pair, who are most famous for their hit “Thrift Shop,” took a different approach when recording the first song off their album “The Heist,” titled “Same Love.” With the help of spoken word artist Mary Lambert, the trio produced a profound anthem in reference to the Washington Referendum 74 – the February 2012 state bill that would eventually legalize same-sex marriage in WA.
“Same Love” explores the governmental, religious, and societal aspects of same-sex marriage. The song contains a lot of power in its words.
Macklemore illustrates the idea that being homosexual shouldn’t take away your rights as an American citizen. America prides itself on being “The land of the free, and the home of the brave,” yet cowers in the presence of something new.
The struggle for gay is paralleled by the 1960’s, and America’s fight against segregation.
School teaches about Rosa Parks who refused to give up her seat on a public bus to a white man, and Martin Luther King Jr. who had a dream that his children would be judged “Not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” Videos, photos, and journal entries all depict the cruelty, unjust treatment these people were shown for something they absolutely could not control. And most of all, we were taught that it just wasn’t fair.
Macklemore’s lyrics hit the nail on the head, and struggles to see the difference between segregation and marriage equality. “It’s the same hate that’s caused wars from religion. Gender to skin color, and the complexion of your pigment. The same fight that led people to walk-outs and sit-ins. It’s human rights for everybody, there is no difference.”
Even in their teenage years, there are young people who are affected by the government’s regulation of same-sex marriage. An openly gay senior examines how times have changed. “I mean, at one point in time, it wasn’t even legal for interracial marriage. Could you honestly say with a straight face that that’s not wrong? In fifty years from now, it’ll be the same thing. We’ll laugh and look at how ridiculous it was that same sex marriage was illegal” Zach Heinemann said.
Even the students at Neshaminy High School do an excellent job of cooperating with one another, to support a diverse student body. Spectrum, Neshaminy’s gay-straight alliance, successfully organizes Allied week every year in March to reinforce the idea that everyone deserves and equal chance, and a safe place to be themselves. The tolerance and support shown by approximately 2,000 high school students can be an example to the rest of society. Teenagers. Teenagers can see past the stereotypes, and ill-formed opinions that society projects unto the gay community.
They may not hold the wisdom and experience of those who run our country, but the students at Neshaminy hold the key to the future. If teenagers can accept the characteristics and choices that make their peers who they are, then this generation will see to it that equality will be had by all. If twelve states can agree that same-sex couples are no different than their heterosexual counterparts, why is the rest of the nation lagging behind?
Take a step back from the world that we live in – with the opinions and prejudices that an unaccepting society inevitably departs on us – and look at the situation that the gay community is forced to live in. It makes us seem foolish. When two people love one another, and are willing to make the commitment of marriage, it should not even be brought into consideration what gender they are or identify with.
Acceptance is a state of mind. And that state of mind needs to be adopted by the rest of our country. It will be a triumphant day when all of America’s peoples are allowed to exercise the freedoms designated to them. But until then, Macklemore reveals, “No law is going to change us, we have to change us. Whatever God you believe in, we come from the same one. Strip away the fear, and underneath its all the same love. And it’s about time that we raised up.”