History was made Tuesday night when Barack Obama was elected the 44^th president of the United States. Whether this represents breaking racial boundaries set by individuals long gone from this earth or if it represents forward movement toward a stronger nation and future, the 2008 Election is one to be remembered.

Despite the positive change in the presidency, some things changed for the worse.

As I scanned the online edition of the Chicago Tribune as part of my morning ritual, I came across the headline “California bans same-sex marriage.” I felt sick. I could only imagine long-time same-sex partners who were happy to be married feeling worse than me.

I remember back in May when same-sex marriage was legalized – all the hype and hope that surrounded the historic event. And now, those same couples who were legally married must face the possibility of having those unions revoked.

What I don’t understand is how something that so many individuals view as sacred can be given and taken away so easily. Some logic and arguments just do not make sense. For example, you have individuals saying that if Prop 8 was not passed, children will learn about gay marriage in school and turn gay. So is that the same if children learn about Asian American issues, they will turn into Asian Americans? Or if children learn about the atrocities committed by the United States, they will also commit their own? OK maybe the last one was a stretch.

Point being: I don’t believe that people who are gay have a choice in who they love.

If given the choice between being able to enjoy the sanctity of marriage and acceptance by your peers, and being condemned by every religious leader under the sun and hiding your love for another, you would choose to be condemned? You would rather spend your life with someone of the “right” gender and hide your true feelings?

If marriage is so sacred, why is the divorce rate so high in the United States? I am deeply saddened and disgusted that our country would rather pass out marriage certificates to individuals who don’t even see themselves with their partners forever than to individuals who have fought battle after battle to be together. Can we honestly say that Britney Spears and her 24-hour marriage to some guy, whose name we have all forgotten, deserved a marriage certificate but a union between George Takei and his long-time partner Brad Altman doesn’t? Please, give me a break.

The importance of rejecting Proposition 8 does not lie in Bible verses or come from the mouths of religious leaders: it stems from the fact that in a country where so much emphasis is placed on the meaning of marriage and the joining of two individuals for life, it is hard to fathom that you will never have that opportunity because of the gender of the one you love.

As someone told me recently, love doesn’t need to make sense. Who are we, as individuals, to say, at the end of the day, who can or can’t do something?