'Their love is the same as anybody else's love'
To mark Tuesday's historic arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court, The Des Moines Register asked two Millennials, whose generation has helped America redefine its attitudes toward same-sex marriage, to share their perspectives on the forces that shaped their opinions.
Kristin Richert, 22, is an Indianola High School graduate and Simpson College senior, who told her story to reporter Grant Rodgers. She graduates Saturday with a degree in integrated marketing communications and political science. She plans to pursue a master's degree in public relations at the University of Denver.
I grew up in a very Republican household. Every time I go home, Fox News and Bill O'Reilly are still on the TV.
Basically, when you grow up in that environment, you are way more likely to hold the beliefs of your parents and your community. So, when I entered college, I was very conservative — especially on social issues.
I was the president of the College Republicans at Simpson for my first two years in college. I think the moment when my thinking started to change is when I met a freshman who lived across the hall from me. She is a lesbian and took it upon herself to seek me out and talk to me, because she knew that I was anti-gay marriage.
It's kind of awkward when you talk to someone who is gay or a lesbian and you have a viewpoint that is basically denying them rights. We talked about the fact that, at that time, I believed that being gay was a choice. Because that's how I was raised. That's how my father thought. That's what Fox News says. You just kind of believe what you hear.
She just one day looked at me and said, "Why would I choose to be bullied? Why would I choose to be denied rights?" During that conversation, it kind of started a thought process in my head. I was like, "Wait a minute. Maybe I'm wrong."
I met my first drag queen in college, which was very interesting for me. My freshman year I went to a drag show, which was really out of my comfort zone at the time. I think college opens a lot of minds of young people and it puts them outside of their comfort zone, allowing them to understand themselves and other people — and maybe arrive at new conclusions.
I am still very fiscally conservative; I'm still a registered Republican. But I see all of these recent Republicans coming out and saying that they're running for president, and they're still just holding those viewpoints of the extreme right Christian wing of the Republican Party.
It makes me not want to tell people I'm a Republican, because then they automatically assume all of these social views reflect my views.
I don't see why we need to deny people rights. Their love is the same as anybody else's love, and their life is the same as anybody else's life. I really think my generation of Republicans are much different.
Hopefully, once we get older and can bring more influence into the political sphere, we can slowly change the image of Republicans into a party that is more socially inclusive.