I'm not saying this as in "this shouldn't be taken care of". In fact, it affects me since I'm "gay" (but I can't act on the feelings because it goes against what I believe sooooooo asexual) and if I ever want to go back I want to keep that option open.
No, if you self-identify as gay, or in other words that you are emotionally and physically attracted to people of the same sex, you are gay. You just choose not to act on your feelings, which is perfectly fine. Whatever it is that makes you happy. However, I should clarify that being asexual means that you have no physical attraction for anyone, physically or emotionally.
It's just that lately, the world has been disappointing me constantly, and I want to say something about it.
The easy way to solve that is to not have any expectations. We always get disappointed when we expect something to happen, or not to happen. If you let go of your expectations, you'll no longer be disappointed. It's also less stressful that way.
Couldn't we have gone and given them these rights?
Of course, as was said before, we could have had these rights ages ago. But because until recently opinion of gay people has been so negative, society has effectively relegated us to second-class citizenship. It's improving, but not fast enough, and it's sad to say (but true) the biggest stumbling block preventing us from attaining those rights is religion.
Haven't you read the Bible? (and let's be honest, that's the only argument against).
I read it. It's not for me. Besides which, I have to ask, which version of the 100 or so different versions of the bible are you referring to? The bible has been translated so many different times and interpreted in so many different ways that I doubt anyone truly knows what was originally written all those centuries ago. Most serious theologians are in agreement, however, that the bible passages used to condemn homosexuality have nothing to do with homosexuality at all.
You could cite me any verse in the bible condemning homosexuality, and I could provide you with a different, perfectly acceptable, interpretation of that same verse. Romans, Genesis, Leviticus, any of the so-called clobber passages, they all can be interpreted to have nothing to do with homosexuality at all. It really does depend on an individual's interpretation. That is why there are so many different denominations, different interpretations. Some denominations of Christianity have no problem with homosexuality, for instance, while others do. It's interpretation. If you wish to discuss the bible with me further, though, I would ask that you PM me, or Skype me, and I will be happy to discuss it with you.
But any way, suffice it to say, I'm an atheist. I prefer to believe in myself and the rest of humanity rather than some supposed deity. Even if there was a God of some sort, responsible for all of creation and life on this rather insignificant planet, I seriously doubt it would have the time or the energy to give two hoots about what two people do in the privacy of their own bedrooms.
So why are we wasting time on something that should involve the entirety of say, 5 minutes to pass?
Because so many are standing in the way, and the majority of them cite their religious beliefs for doing so. There are some in government who even believe that homosexuality should be illegal, and all homosexual acts should be prosecuted and result in imprisonment of those found guilty. That's why it's so difficult, and that's why so much time is being spent on this. You're right, it could be solved in five minutes. But it won't because of anti-gay prejudice.
It's not that we shouldn't pay attention to it, it's just that we should pay less, because this is such an obvious answer.
Obvious to you and me, not so for others.