As you said, The money was a major motivating factor in the slave trade, and it is not in the marriage equality battle. The money is not a motivating factor in preventing marriage equality. The shared major motivating factor is arguable, 'hate'.
There aren't huge plantations at stake, make no mistake there is big money involved. Social security, inheritance, and real-estate are just a few of the issues making sure gays are leaving billions on the table. Ultimately, the currently enforced laws favor the majority; straight people.
Marriage equality is sub issue of a massive human rights epidemic which we aren't directly addressing in this thread. The current CEO actively supports organizations which make the epidemic all the more dire for people in many areas of the world. While gays in the US enjoy relative freedom, it is illegal and punishable by death to be gay in 15 countries, and just illegal with life sentence in a dozen more.
During every major recent genocide, gays where almost always highly targeted for killing in the most heinous ways; just to name a few; during US slavery, WW II, and African Apartheid. Just as slavery continues around the world, so does the merciless torture and killing of gays. While we can pull a segment of American history and say with impunity, 'definitely more blacks died in miserable conditions with horrible treatment and torture', gays have had a worldwide and human history long story that nearly matches the brutality, just not the shear numbers.
While our politicians argue about where gay wedding can take place, this is just one of the final chapters in a very long story about a fight just to exist. To characterize this issue as just a visitation rights, marriage and tax benefits issue, as you say, 'really glosses over how terrible [homophobia through out history] actually was.'
There aren't huge plantations at stake, make no mistake there is big money involved. Social security, inheritance, and real-estate are just a few of the issues making sure gays are leaving billions on the table. Ultimately, the currently enforced laws favor the majority; straight people.
Marriage equality is sub issue of a massive human rights epidemic which we aren't directly addressing in this thread. The current CEO actively supports organizations which make the epidemic all the more dire for people in many areas of the world. While gays in the US enjoy relative freedom, it is illegal and punishable by death to be gay in 15 countries, and just illegal with life sentence in a dozen more.
During every major recent genocide, gays where almost always highly targeted for killing in the most heinous ways; just to name a few; during US slavery, WW II, and African Apartheid. Just as slavery continues around the world, so does the merciless torture and killing of gays. While we can pull a segment of American history and say with impunity, 'definitely more blacks died in miserable conditions with horrible treatment and torture', gays have had a worldwide and human history long story that nearly matches the brutality, just not the shear numbers.
While our politicians argue about where gay wedding can take place, this is just one of the final chapters in a very long story about a fight just to exist. To characterize this issue as just a visitation rights, marriage and tax benefits issue, as you say, 'really glosses over how terrible [homophobia through out history] actually was.'