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Sexual Orientation and the Law

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Sexual Orientation and the Law
Stacia Mayhew
Columbia Southern University

Just because you are different than other people, you may feel lost or alone. That is hard enough to deal with, but now there are people around you that are uncomfortable with the fact that you are gay, a lesbian, or bi-sexual. How can you tell your family and friends when you honestly have no idea that you don’t know how they will react? I, personally, am not a lesbian, however, this subject strikes a nerve with me because I feel that it doesn’t matter who people choose to spend their life with. Why does society care so much about whom people choose to love? There are some family and friends who will accept you for whom or what you are or become in life. Some may not say it right away, but I think they will eventually come around. I would be torn to pieces if someone I loved rejected me because of who I was and my sexuality. Coming out is hard enough and now you have your entire support network not talking to you because of it. Who do you confide in now? Imagine if you have no gay friends that truly understand what you are going through. Then you have everyone around finding out and picking on you making things worse. People can be seriously cruel and not care about their actions. The case in Oxford, CA with Lawrence King, 15, is a tragedy. He was in middle school and announced to his class that he was gay in front of his classmates. It takes a lot of nerve to be who you are as a person and not care what other people think. That’s what Lawrence did and because of that, classmate, Brandon McInerney, decided to shoot him in school because he was gay. (Cathcart. 2008). “Prosecutors charged Brandon as an adult with murder as a premeditated hate crime and gun possession. If convicted, he faces a sentence of 52 years to life in prison.” (Cathcart. 2008). My guess is

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