Gay marriage is about law, not rights

The debate over gay marriage is not the civil rights movement of our generation.

The civil rights movement of the '60s and '70s focused on ending government policies that denied people certain rights based on their race. The gay marriage debate is over whether or not homosexuals should have laws changed because of their lifestyle.

Marriage as defined by law is the union of a man and a woman. Every American, homosexual or heterosexual, is entitled to this right. Gays and heterosexuals have the same rights.

Therefore gays are not being discriminated against like racial minorities were before the civil rights movement. Gay marriage is just one issue on a broad political spectrum.