America is a country built on freedoms. Freedom of speech, of press, of assembly. But are we free to love?

As the debate continues in America over same-sex marriage, other countries are discussing it as well.

France is currently attempting to pass a law that would legalize same-sex marriage and adoption. On Monday, more than 300,000 people gathered around the Eiffel Tower to protest.

France’s president, François Hollande, is expected to pass the law with his Socialists’ parliamentary majority, but the protests have hindered public support and forced lawmakers to stall on a part of the plan that allowed lesbian couples access to artificial insemination.

According to an article in The New York Times, a protestor argued that “the French are tolerant, but they are deeply attached to the family and the defense of children.”

Protestors in France argued from many sides of the issue, but one argument is that children will be in some way harmed by having same-sex parents.

All children should be so lucky as to have parents who will legally claim them as their personal responsibility, even if the child is not biologically theirs. Yet this is the case that protestors brought to lawmakers.

In France, they have the right to protest. But they do not have the right to marriage or children.

In America, we have allowed same-sex marriage in nine states — Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont and Washington.

There are still four-fifths of the states to approve this legislation, which means the majority of the population does not have equal rights.

In a country where we value our equal rights and the diversity of our people, why is it that we still do not allow our marriages to be equal?

There is an obvious divide in America on this issue. There have been many protests like the one in France in our communities.

The Editorial Board suggests a call for an end to discrimination and acceptance, or even just tolerance, of the diversity that makes America unique.

This diversity includes race, religion and orientation — and guess which category still does not have equal rights.

We no longer have laws discriminating people based on their race, and everyone is allowed to practice or not practice their own religion.

What remains is a ban on marriage, which openly discriminates same-sex couples. If we have decided racial laws are outdated, it seems natural for marriage laws to follow suit. America needs to end this hold on discrimination.

Though the beliefs and arguments against same-sex marriage of those who are protesting in France and those who protest in Bloomington-Normal are valid because we all have our right to an opinion, it seems unfair, if we look at the very core of human nature, to not allow someone a right that most, by law, have.

How can we differentiate who is able to be married and who is not, when we’re all just people?

This issue is a long way from being solved, and there are many obstacles that same-sex couples will have to face, whether through their general acceptance, their marriage rights or their ability to have children.

But one thing is for certain: though this country claims to accept diversity, there are still people who suffer every day from this lie.