Letter: LGBTQ advocacy groups owe existence to Cobb

The issue that seems to be getting lost within the current dialogue is not whether Victoria Cobb and the Family Foundation have the right to speak out against LGBTQ people, abortion and an array of other issues — because she ABSOLUTELY DOES. The issue here is that the University of Richmond and the Jepson School should not be awarding a person, however good her intentions may be, and in turn, an organization which fights to oppress an already oppressed and marginalized group.

The Family Foundation fights to remove groups like the university's Student Alliance for Sexual Diversity (SASD) from this campus and campuses across Virginia. This quote is directly from their Web site: "Homosexual advocates are working through school curricula and student groups such as 'Gay-Straight Alliances' to bring their message to children in Virginia. Legislation is needed to bar these groups from promoting risky sexual behavior in our public schools."

Passing legislation such as this only further seeks to discriminate by firstly, violating "homosexual advocates" right to the First Amendment. Secondly, it would remove all of the limited support out there for LGBTQ youth. That being said, it is important to recognize that ONE-THIRD of all attempted teen suicides are attempted by LGBTQ teens and the highest cause of death among LGBTQ teens is suicide. By removing the limited support out there, LGBTQ teens are left with no help and no one to turn to.

That being said, I, much like the Family Foundation, also believe in a small government when it comes to my own private affairs. And as a woman who happens to love other women and intends to marry another woman, I believe that the government has no business telling me who I can and cannot enter an equal, legal agreement with. And in order to be equal in the eyes of the law, that legal agreement must be marriage — not a civil union, not a domestic partnership — marriage. This may not be marriage in the capacity that some religious organizations recognize it, but it must be marriage in the capacity that the government recognizes it.

Marriage, as recognized by the government, must be granted to all people to be in coherence with the 14th Amendment's due process clause. This clause states that the government must respect all the legal privileges that are allotted to citizens under the law. In the United States, citizens are allotted the privilege of marriage, completely disconnected from any form of religion, because of the separation of church and state. Therefore, according the U.S. government, marriage, as it is recognized by the government, is not a religious institution. As a result, private religious institutions may chose not to perform marriage rites for a same-sex couple. But in the capacity in which the U.S. government recognizes marriage, it is not a religious issue.

Groups like the Family Foundation hide behind the guise of the words "pro-family." If they were, as they assert, pro-family, they would not seek legislation seeking to privilege one kind of family over another. They also would not remove groups that actively provide support to children who are ostracized and forgotten by both their social circles, the government and sometimes, worst of all, their families. Groups like SASD, the Richmond Organization for Sexual Minority Youth (ROSMY) and Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) would cease to exist if society, government and families simply accepted their LGBTQ peers, citizens and family members as one of their own. The Family Foundation literally keeps SASD, ROSMY, PFLAG in business.

Finally, by recognizing Victoria Cobb and her organization, the University of Richmond and the Jepson School of Leadership Studies also keep us in business. Cobb is a great leader. She has helped "spearhead the Foundation," to quote her bio; however, by recognizing her leadership ability, Jepson is also indirectly recognizing and promoting her cause. A cause which seeks, both directly and indirectly, to oppress, discriminate, ostracize and once again, create second class citizens in the United States of America. This a cause the University of Richmond and the Jepson School should not endorse. By choosing to endorse such an endeavor, UR and Jepson only serve to make SASD and the rest of the LGBTQ community more united against hatred and prejudice. We will continue to fight until our brothers and sisters, straight and gay, are equal in the eyes of the law.

If you wish to join the fight and support your LGBTQ peers, please join us in standing against hate and the university's endorsement of hate 5 p.m. Friday in front of Jepson Hall.