Created equal?

by Dustin Woods
Visionary Columnist

The Declaration of Independence. Ah, how sweet the words our founders wrote. However, that very document says it’s “self-evident” that all men (people) are created equal. 

Being created equal was specific because the document needed to point out that though many of them weren’t born in England, they had all the same rights of an Englishman, including having the right to choose how they shall be governed.

But I think it’s incredibly important that the founders noted that this equality is self-evident. A self-evident truth is so obvious that having to argue the point is already beating a dead horse; the sky is blue, and all people are created equally, some things are obvious so let’s move on!

Even though we are all “created equal,” we are not all treated equally legally. For the LGBTQ+ community, this reality is ever present for those who live in states that don’t protect its citizens. As a community, we created our own equality by fighting for every inch of ground that has led us to a more equally treated group of citizens.

The efficacy of those efforts may be waning with an onslaught of new conservative judges being appointed to the bench to lifetime positions where they may reign and impose their will as an activist judiciary.

July 4 is not the day we won our independence or even when we formed our current form of government.  Independence Day is the day our American ancestors declared our sovereignty and dedicated ourselves to the task of winning it. On that day, no one knew for sure if the task would be done and if our nation would be won.

The LGBTQ+ community has days comparable to July 4. We celebrate it in the form of Pride parades, but it began with what is known as the Stonewall Riots. The instigators of this movement also weren’t assured of achieving the success they were fighting for either, but by hell or high water, they were going to try. 

Our founders created a nation. Our LGBTQ+ “founders” also fought for equality and created a space in this nation for our community to grow and ultimately thrive.

Never forget the struggle it has taken for our LGBTQ+ community to exert its influence over the government that derives its powers from the consent of the governed. Our founders wrote some plain language when they decided to break away from their former masters and take on the task of self-governance. Let’s remember it when we push back against erosions to our fledgling successes.   

Copyright The Gayly. 7/4/2019 @ 11:38 a.m. CST.