For the past couple of weeks, issues of gay marriage and whether the Bible and Christians condone same-sex marriage have been all over The Pacer and other media outlets.

I’m not here to preach one way or the other, but I think that what most people has failed to be taught is tolerance.

If you look up the definition of tolerance in the dictionary it says that tolerance is “a fair, objective and permissive attitude toward those opinions, practices, race, religion, nationality, etc differ from one’s own.”

I’m not expecting people to hold hands and sing Kumbaya in the Quad, but if you do, please call me, because that will definitely go in The Pacer. However, how hard would it be for people to listen to others’ opinions without foaming at the mouth?

I don’t want anyone to think that I’m taking up for one certain side. For the people who are against gay marriage, I ask that you take two minutes and try to imagine where they’re coming from.

How would you feel if you were told that you couldn’t marry the person that you loved because you were heterosexual? How would you feel if you were told that the love you feel is evil and wrong? Put yourself in their shoes.

I can’t imagine what it was like before 1919 for women to be told that they weren’t allowed to vote. None of us can imagine a time where everyone was not allowed to vote.

Can you imagine what it was like for African American people to be shoved to the back of the bus, not allowed to go to the same schools as everyone else or being told they can’t use the same water fountain?

How is this movement for gay rights any different? It’s not.

The gay community is one of the last communities in America to be discriminated against. How would you feel if it was the Christian community or the heterosexual community that was being discriminated against?

On the other hand, how would you feel if everything you believed in was being questioned? Christians believe that gay marriage is wrong, because the Bible says that it’s wrong. How would you feel if people were coming out saying that what you believe is wrong and that you were just being close-minded?

In today’s world, I think that the entire world would be better off if we just tolerated one another. Granted, tolerance can only go so far. I’m sure that no one would or will say that if only people would have tolerated Hitler, he might not have been so bad. Don’t be an idiot.

Now, let’s segue into another entire column.

Many people are talking and up in arms about the Vote No/Vote Yes on 1 campaign in Tennessee. I don’t know if it will pass in the upcoming election or not. In my eyes, it could go either way. However, I will say that if gay marriage doesn’t pass on November 7, it will later. It’s only a matter of time.

It took women a long time to get the right to vote. The National Women’s Suffage Association was formed in 1869, but women didn’t get the right to vote until 1919 when the 19th amendment was passed.

The same thing can be said about The Civil Rights Movement. The Civil Rights movement was from 1954 to 1968, but some people say it began before 1954.

The point I’m trying to make is that changes in our nation about gaining rights for a certain group of Americans don’t happen over night. Give it time. Eventually, homosexuals will gain all the rights that heterosexuals have. It’s only a matter of time.

To summarize my two columns that have been combined into one: How about we show a little maturity and tolerance, and once the fire of change and equality has been ignited, nothing will stop it.

Editor’s note: The opinion stated in the above column is my own. This column, in no way, is a reflection of other The Pacer staff members’ opinions.