Blog #20:

Should the government have control over "personal" issues such as violent video games, marijuana, gay marriage, etc.? Questions like these have been surfacing for many years now. A main topic of interest in whether the government should control whether or not it happens is, the issue of gay marriage/rights. The period of granting licenses for marriage and such to gays first began on June 16, 2008, due to a ruling by the Supreme Court of California that was based on an equal protection argument and ended November 5, 2008, because of the passage ofProposition 8. Today another "gay" topic that has been surfacing is whether the rule of "don't ask don't tell" should be continued or to be shut down or gotten rid of. In fact senator John McCain has taken on a position of trying to prevent the "don't ask don't tell" rule to be eliminated.

I interviewed a fellow student at High Tech High Media Arts about her opinions on what the government has control over and if it should be warranted. I asked her about video games, gay marriage, etc. When asked about violent video games being controlled by the government she responded with, "the government should control things such as video games and movies just so there is control and young people aren't exposed to violence or sexuality."

Although she was alright with the government having control over violent media, when ask about the government being able to control gay marriage and/or don't ask don't tell, she said that the difference is, "gay marriage is a choice that an adult makes and obviously if they want to get married and have strong feelings, then the government has no right to make laws that interfere with love." Finally, further asked about her opinions on the governments involvement with "gay" laws or restrictions she said, "I feel like the topic of "gay" shouldn't be discussed or debated by anyone in the government especially anyone who is strait. They have no right trying to make a law on something that I see as a right to happiness which comes from love." While in some places I may have a slight variation of opinion about these topics being controlled by the government, I pretty much share a common opinion with my interviewee.