Few words polarize people as much as “gay marriage”. The feelings that these words conjure up can force logical, reasonable people to ridiculous actions, as shown by the November 2 electoral ousting of three Iowa state Supreme Court justices on the basis that they ruled a law infringing on a minority’s rights as unconstitutional. Some members of the Iowa House of Representatives attempted last week to begin impeachment of the remaining four. What could stir up such emotional outrage in members of our government that they forget the legal role of their own justice department? Many students at Ames High are baffled by this question and cannot believe the amount of persecution in this country against the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender community. They feel it necessary to bring attention to the plight of the LGBT community and hopefully promote acceptance of equal rights for the entire community. This progressive-minded group of kids, known as Spectrum, recently showed its support by taking part in the National Day of Silence on April 15. Students took a day-long vow of silence in order to “show what gay people have to go through by not sharing their secret,” senior Basil Rain, co-leader of Spectrum, said. The Day of Silence isn’t the only gay-friendly activity Spectrum sponsors. Along with the two other co-leaders, Marian Thompson and Alex Canfield, Rain helps put on the “It’s OK with me” dance, an annual event designed to reduce homophobia. This event, like their weekly club, has enjoyed a fair attendance rate of about 20 people. A common misconception of Spectrum is that it’s a school-sponsored club where gay kids can do gay things during a time slot when no one can see them (eg, Wednesday mornings) and that the sole purpose of the club is to support the gay population’s hidden agenda (ie, to undermine American Christian values and make all straight people gay). Rain argues this could not be further from the truth. “Spectrum is not about recruiting people into a gay lifestyle. Many of us are very straight and are just passionate about standing up for people’s rights.”