Marriage is What Brings Us Together

Until this point, many of my blogs have been random thoughts or rants about food habits, signs on cars, and politics, that come up for me from time to time. Today, I am going to take a stand on something I've been unhappy with, which was triggered by some news last Tuesday. Recently, I saw that the state of Maine has "torpedoed" a law that would have made gay marriage legal. While reading about this, I felt disappointed and I have a problem with this. Not just with Maine specifically or, but with the idea that gay marriage isn't legal, and what that means.

It's so interesting to me that people seem to be all "oh I'm cool with gays...they're ok in my book! Look how tolerant I am!" but when it comes down to voting - enacting laws that would prove their "ok-ness," people fall short when it counts. I know, I know. Change takes time and patience and homosexual tolerance is in it's societal infancy but I'm frustrated knowing that some individuals have to continually put up with intolerance; who haven't been and won't be treated fairly in their lifetime.

What I have the biggest issue with is not the law itself; that's the byproduct. The real issue for me is the fact that the law reflects a fundamental devaluation of homosexuals - saying they are somehow worth less than heterosexual individuals. Devaluing some one because they are attracted to someone of the same gender? F that. We live in a country that was founded on the belief that all were created equal regardless of background, belief, or religion. I know that's not the way the country actually works today but it's ideally what we strive for. What our laws should reflect. Right? For those who are heterosexual, how would you feel if you weren't allowed to get married to someone you loved because society says your love isn't as "legal" as someone else's?

Currently, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire allow same-sex couples to marry. I believe these states are correct in making a step towards bringing equal treatment to individuals but 5 states out of 50? We're scratching the surface. 10% of the states in our country have won hard-fought battles to allow same-sex marriage. That means 90% still reflect antiquated beliefs that homosexuality is less valuable.

I also find it interesting that some argue they need to protect marriage because they consider it to be a sacred institution between a man and a woman...considering that 1 our of every 2 heterosexual marriages currently end in divorce exactly how sacred is it? How nice that someone who is heterosexual has the luxury of getting married and remarried 3,4,5 times but in most states, someone who is homosexual can't get married...even once!