I just don't understand
The longer I live and the more I read about it, I really just can't understand why gay people can't get married. Their love is real and they want a legal partnership. So what? Just let them, for god's sake.
This couple almost got married in Virginia because the "bride" passed for a woman when they applied for their license. When the state found out he was a man, a judge said the marriage was "invalid from the start" and took it out of the public record, as if it had never happened.
Why did they have to be so mean? They just wanted to be together. It makes me sad. I really feel like this is nothing more than singling out gays and picking on them. The religious excuses for it (which I find bogus anyway) shouldn't come into play, because this is a contract through the government.
I just hope more states follow California's lead. Either that or discontinue marriage as a legal institution altogether, since the benefits that come along with it favor married people over singles so heavily it could almost be seen as discrimination.
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I wrote something on this subject a while back which was basically a long winded agreement with what you've written here:
http://www.jasonlefkowitz.net/blog1archive/2004/03/confessions_of.html
Agreed... it really is amazing that some narrow-minded person in ohio, for instance, thinks that 2 women or 2 men getting married - NEITHER of whom they know or speak to, even - across the country (or even acorss the street) would somehow affect them negativly. How does someone else doing something not involving you....involve you? Obviously that can be disproven for other circumstances, but for marriage?? For a celebration of honest love and respect between two people? It's not like they're trying to pass laws about eating people or something terrible...If anything, allowing someone to experience joy will only elevate our collective joy as a society. It's sad to see people denied something so pure as a legal bond through marriage, regardless of sex and politics.
I guess it can be said that to be accepting of it, for some people, means that it contradicts their own personal life choices...or somehow makes them "wrong". Wouldn't life be boring if we were all the same, though? Why is being different so threatening?
I have to say, I'm very proud to be from MA - the first state to legalize gay marriage. I'm amazed it has taken 3+ years for any other state to follow suit, but I'm thrilled that CA finally has. Since MA legalized marriage, I have spoken with people in MA who were both for and against gay marriage while it was being debated. All have agreed that allowing gay couples to enjoy the benefits of marriage hasn't affected the lives of anyone else.