Amanda Greever

“Golden Girls” has always been one of my favorite shows, more so now than it when it first aired in the 1980s. Just in case you’ve been living under a rock or a bridge, the show showcased the adventures of three women, Dorothy, Blanche and Rose, celebrating their golden years while living together in a house in Miami. To round out the group, you had Sophia, Dorothy’s 80-something mother, who had a razor-sharp wit. Sure, the show was filled with laughs and hijinks, but the writers still managed to tackle some tough issues in the show.

Take an episode I watched this past week. Blanche, a true Southern belle, received a visit from her baby brother Clayton. She’d been worried about him because he hadn’t dated or been involved with anyone seriously since his marriage had broken up. So, Blanche set him up with a lovely woman, but the date didn’t go so well.

I’ll skip all the details and hit the big finish: Clayton was gay but was scared to death to tell Blanche. He wasn’t sure how she’d react and if she could accept him. It took her some time, but by the end of the episode, which was called “Scared Straight,” she wanted to see her brother happy, whether with a woman or a man.

That episode aired in 1988, and over 20 years later, homosexuality is as big an issue as ever. Maine is the latest state to say no to gay marriage. I liked the phrasing a Time article used: “30 straight state elections.” That’s the winning streak of gay marriage opponents. The article also called gay marriage “an issue that simply will not go away.” Really? Do we expect it to? Sure, election after election is knocking gay activists back a bit, but do we really expect them to simply quit fighting for what they want? It’s not just about the right to marry whomever they please. It’s about rights, period.

A friend of mine recently got a new job. She’s a lesbian and in a committed relationship with another woman, but her boss didn’t know when she hired her. However, on her first day, the boss keeps asking questions about my friend’s personal life and significant other. My friend, getting more uncomfortable by the minute, kept dodging the questions, simply saying, “It’s complicated.” However, the boss wasn’t to be deterred and kept asking question after question, refusing to take a hint. And finally she got the info she craved when my friend came out, saying she was a lesbian and dating a girl.

The boss was shocked but not really upset. However, my friend began to panic about the security of her job because hard as it might be to believe, there are no rights protecting gay people from losing their jobs. Sure, you would think it would be blatant discrimination, but no, there aren’t laws saying so yet.

While the fight for gay rights may be a hot topic right now, the issue dates back a long time. The first actual gay-rights march was held in 1969. Of course, the support for gay rights was as vehemently opposed back then as it is now.

It’s been 40 years since that march, and where are we now? Looking back at those 40 years, we have the AIDS scare of the ’80s, the brutal murder of Matthew Shepard in the ’90s, Prop 8 and other atrocities that make me hang my head in shame as one of those straight people of this nation. But in those same 40 years, you have the first marriages to take place in this country. And yes, it may look like a losing battle, but gay rights is gaining more and more support.

I realize that there are plenty of arguments that could be cited on both sides. One can state religious reasons, the other constitutional ones. But I like to look to Blanche of the “Golden Girls.” She wasn’t a fan of homosexuality. She didn’t believe in it, but at her core and in her heart, there was something more important: she wanted to see her brother happy.

Do we really want to live in a society where we choose to see others unhappy? Should my friend really have to be worried about losing her job because her sexuality might not be the “norm?” Should she really have to be worried to let people know the love of her life is another woman, and that one day, she wants to marry her?

I don’t know, maybe I’m just beating a dead horse again. I guess for me, it goes beyond religion and the Constitution. Maybe human rights are the most important reason of all.