When Proposition 8, the same-sex marriage ban, was passed last November, tens of thousands of gay people lost a basic right.

VIDEO: Nelly gets students thoughts on gay rights.

And still, bigotry continues to prevail over the gay community.

This country didn’t let blacks marry whites until 1954. When our government realized how ridiculous, prejudiced and intolerant that rule was, the law changed. It became a period of historical shame.

But here we are, telling people who they cannot marry, again.

In high school, I helped start a Queer-Straight Alliance, because I don’t believe you have to be gay to care about gay rights. I didn’t choose to be straight just like it is not a choice for gay people, and I don’t think biology should affect equality.

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community just wants and warrants the same rights and privileges that the straight community has.

Gay people should not have to ask for equal treatment, but they have been forced to.

But not everyone sees the absurdity.

Gays and straights work together to show that we are all equal. We protest and rally remind people that love is universal. Inequality is intolerable.

Student Alex Harris is a co-coordinator at the PRIDE center. She helps organize an annual event called, “Guess Who’s Gay.” The event confronts stereotypes of gay people. The audience questions a panel of LGBT and straight students before guessing their orientations.

Harris said the purpose of the game is “to foster a connection between the LGBT community and the heterosexual community, in a way that both can have something to relate to.”

This connection boldly presents the gay community to people who often would not normally be exposed to this other lifestyle. It reminds people of the LGBT presence in our communities.

It’s hard to think that we need to warm people up to the idea of equality. But, sometimes people need to be familiarized with something to become comfortable with it.

We strive for acceptance. No effort in this fight is a lost cause.

These rallies hold great weight in enlightening people about the bigotry endured by the LGBT community. They put faces to people most affected and bring social awareness.

We are trying to foster a tolerant and inclusive community everywhere.

Alysson Satterlund, interim director of the Women’s Resource and PRIDE centers, said the most effective way to manage prejudiced perspectives is by educating people.

“(Opponents of gay rights and equality) believe just as passionately as we do, and I don’t think you can counter that kind of passion without education,” Satterlund said.

We, the LGBT community and its allies, are eagerly waiting for when everyone can look back on this bigotry.

When this time has passed, we as a country will wonder why it was ever appropriate to deny the LGBT community such basic rights.

But that will not happen without an attack on all the ignorance, misinformation and stereotypes that lead people to such active discrimination.

I just don’t understand how we can protect the right to own a gun, but not the right to be with who we love.

We need to stand, march, rally, yell – whatever it takes – to spread this message.

We are young and we will not make our grandparents’ mistakes. These are our friends.

This is our civil rights movement.

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