Homosexuality should be treated the same as heterosexuality.

"I chose to treat the homosexuality like I would treat any other form of sexuality."- Barbet Schroeder. I am in agreement with French director Barbet Schroeder simply because when it comes to homosexuality and heterosexuality there are very few significant differences. In today's society homosexuals are looked down on by many different social groups and thrown into their own group. In my opinion this is unnecessary, we are all human beings. It is for these reasons and those that follow that I am compelled to affirm today's resolution, RESOLVED: Homosexuality should be treated the same as heterosexuality. For clarification of today's round I offer the following definitions: Homosexuality-A sexual attraction to (or relations with) persons of the same sex. Heterosexuality-A sexual attraction to (or sexual relations with) persons of the opposite sex. Equality- The state of being equal, esp. in status, rights, and opportunities Homophobia- An extreme and irrational aversion to homosexuality and homosexual people. The highest value to achieve within today's round is equity. Equity can be defined as she quality of being fair and impartial: "equity of treatment" and is the most important value to achieve within today's round because all human beings deserve to be treated the same regardless of their sexuality, race, gender, religion, etc. The criterion I choose to uphold my value is love. Love can be defined as favorable reception; approval and upholds my value of Equity, because in order to have equity we must first accept each other as human beings which will be further explained throughout my contentions. Contention 1: Homosexuals pose no threats to heterosexuals. A.)Every day homosexuals face the challenge of being judged for their sexuality by others. Sexuality is something that is usually kept private by most people. Unfortunately Tyler Clementi, former student at Rutgers' University wasn't entitled to his privacy. Tyler Clementi's straight roommate Dharun Ravi was charged for allegedly recording Clementi kissing another man with a webcam and making a spectacle of it on the internet. This later lead to Tyler Clementi's decision to jump off a bridge and commit suicide. Observing the situation it is easy to see that Clementi had not threatened Ravi in any way, he even asked for the room to himself from the hours of 9pm-12pm. Ravi agreed to this, but decided to leave his webcam on, just so he could spy on Clementi. After discovering what Clementi wanted the room for, Ravi decided to post the video on the internet. He wanted everyone to see what was happening. He wanted people to see that Clementi was gay. Had Clementi been straight and kissing a woman chances are Ravi probably would not have cared and/or posted the video on the internet. The entire situation was completely and utterly unnecessary and only occurred because Tyler was gay. In conclusion, Tyler provided no threat to Dharun and was victimized for no reason. B.)Heterosexuality isn't discriminated against. Today many straight men consider themselves "uncomfortable" around homosexuals, when in reality there is not much difference in heterosexuality and homosexuality. For instance, I recall a former friend of mine who claimed he didn't want to be around me because I was gay, he thought I was going to rape him. Allow me to present the fact that heterosexual men interact with heterosexual women all the time and the fear of one's sexuality is never a problem. I honestly don't remember the last time I've ever heard a woman say, "Oh my gosh, that man is straight..I don't wanna be around him..I might get raped." Simply because women don't say things like that, and for whatever reason, men have tendencies to feel uncomfortable around gay males. This is a clear example of discrimination and it needs to be put to an end. Therefore, there is no legitimate reason for anyone to to decide that homosexuality shouldn't be treated the same as heterosexuality. Contention 2: Sexuality is insignificant. People will always people regardless of their religion, race, sexuality, gender, etc. According to politician Hilary Clinton, "…in reality, gay people are born into and belong to every society in the world. They are all ages, all races, all faiths; they are doctors and teachers, farmers and bankers, soldiers and athletes, and whether we know it or whether we acknowledge it, they are our family, our friends and our neighbors." Clearly Hilary Clinton has come to terms with the fact that there is so much more to people than their sexuality. Sexuality shouldn't define who anyone is or be a reason why a friendship ends. Sexuality is a small, insignificant part of a human being that has no negative impact on others. Nobody seems to be surprised when someone announces that they're straight, what's wrong with giving homosexuals the same calm, indifferent reaction? Contention 3: There is little difference between heterosexuality and homosexuality. In today's society we have gotten into the bad habit of sexualizing everything. When someone says that they are straight, the first thing that comes to mind isn't necessarily their sex life. But if a homosexual declares themselves as gay the first thought that comes to mind is gay sex. In all honesty everything works the same. Straight couples go on dates, gay couples go on dates. Straight people live together sometimes, and gay couples live together sometimes. In every group of people there are good and bad people, but in order to achieve equity we should try to see the good in everyone. Therefore it is invalid to suggest that there is anything that only occurs in one sexuality. Therefore I stand firmly resolved, homosexuality should be treated the same as heterosexuality.