Lincoln declared in the Gettysburg Address that the government he was fighting for, in those dark days of the Civil War, was a nation “conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” Though his words were gender-specific for the times, the spirit of this refers to all people of different races, creeds, ethnicities, religions, and genders under this grand social experiment we call the United States of America. 

Any act of segregation or exclusion of any person from their right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, without the legality of due process, is Un-American. Therefore any bill put forward for legislation that will infringe on the rights of a class of people who are deemed “different” is unconstitutional, immoral, and unethical. 

This is what the SB-17 bill is all about. It attempts to legalize discrimination against people based solely on their sexual identity. Bills like this only solidify the divide in America. America is supposed to be the great melting pot, bringing together the best of all cultures and ideas into one great country.

SB-17 does not fit with a society such as the United States, which is founded on liberty. Laws should be enacted around the central concept that places human dignity above everything else. If people’s inherent rights are continually disrespected, then this great country will never be the land of the free.