It's Okay to be Gay... or a Woman, or even Black.

Sexual orientation somehow seems to be a more important issue than funding allocation, who gets taxed, or almost any other political issue on the agenda. Former San Diego Councilman Carl DeMaio is gay, but that seems to be what most of everybody reports about when discussing his politics. It revolves around the "gay Councilman" or the "homosexual Republican". It perplexes me as to why the media will draw attention to an individuals sexual orientation, as opposed to the actual ideas he wishes to implement when he would be influencing how a state is run. Media focuses on what sells, and though the media outlets may care about the politics and outcomes of elections themselves, nothing will outweigh the importance of the numbers of viewers each outlet has.

Gay marriage is a hot-button issue in today's general political discussion. We have recently seen challenges going up to the Supreme Court, heard vehement opposition and passionate support from both parties, and have watched states try to fight for or against marriage equality within their own states by passing their own laws. We live in a time where the focus on marriage equality has begun to - or already has - taken center stage. With that said, people listen more to icons of the gay community rather than the actual progress the issue is making. It seems to me that a senator, celebrity, or any public figure that "comes out" makes headlines more often than the actual progressive legislation and cases that are being passed and fought every day.

It strikes me as startling that we cannot report the politics of an individual candidate without discussing his sexual orientation if it deviates what we deem as a norm. We never report on the politics of the "straight Governor Chris Christie", so why should we assign otherizing labels to politicians who identify as something other than straight? This is a damaging culture on multiple levels, both for our people and our nation.

On one hand it sends an overall message that you are defined by your differences as a person as opposed to your ideas or actions. This means that you will be limited, labeled, and judged all because that's how the media decides to portray our political leaders, celebrities, and public personalities. This is the same thing whether it be issues of race, monetary stability, or gender. 

We judge people by how we identify them in relation to the trends of media on these issues. It seems to be big news when women make a big political move, but we also somehow find it important to listen to what they are wearing that day. Here's a real newsflash: women are equal and deserve respect. I don't want to hear that a black man was shot or deemed as a criminal, I simply want to hear that an individual who broke the law was apprehended and punished accordingly. It is unfortunate that this is the culture we have grown up to and think subconsciously, but even this acknowledgement of the negative implications of this thinking is a step in the right direction.

Ultimately we see a lot of messages coming out of the youth of our nation. They want us to stop labeling people by their traits and start viewing them for strictly who they are and want to be as people. We should see beyond the labels media provides and start acknowledging the affects people can have on society. We should focus more on former Councilman DeMaio the challenger in California's gubernatorial race as opposed to former Councilman DeMaio the homosexual.