This class needs Jackie back! Nobody talks fast enough to keep up with Jackie!

Forty-five years ago, I stood on this spot and called upon all Americans to make a change. That change was made and I could not be prouder to return to this spot with the same rights as almost every other citizen in this wonderful nation. However, the progress is not complete! As we speak, the homosexual people of America are being denied those same rights that were declared over two hundred years ago to be inalienable. This great country may have been founded upon religious principles; however it was also founded on a belief of separation between church and state. Despite being a religious man, it is my firm belief that these men and women should be given the same rights as every other citizen of this great nation. When we first marched on Washington forty-five years ago, it was our goal to not just attain rights for negroes but for every member of an oppressed group. In the words of the late Franklin Delano Roosevelt, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.” There is nothing to fear in giving these people the rights we all enjoy. The same can be said for the Muslim and middle-eastern population that has immigrated to these United States. There is nothing to fear in these everyday people. We are all citizens and we all deserve the same rights to marriage and free speech. I implore the citizens of the United States to stand up for the rights of others, no matter your religion. There is no reason that any American should ever be denied one of their rights, no matter their religion, sexual orientation, or color.