If you were anywhere near a news source yesterday (Sunday, July 24th) you had to have seen a story (at least one) about all of the same-sex marriages performed around New York during the first day of legalized same-sex marriage in the state.
I saw several such stories, tears in my eyes each time.
Over 600 couples wed yesterday. What an incredible day. What an incredible day for one involved in being a voice for the voiceless and who daily works for equality.
I noticed that most judges doing the civil ceremonies did them for free.
On the other side, one county clerk (I think it was a county and not a city) resigned as she could not morally sign off of a same-sex marriage. She was the second in the state to do so.
Mike and I were married on April 30, 2005. We were married in our church, by our pastor, with 160 family and friends there supporting us. It was the best day of my life. I still dream of saying "I DO" to my husband (and of the scrumptious vegan wedding cake we had made!).
Our marriage is not legal. In fact, we called it "A loving act of civil disobedience". Same-sex marriage is now legal in six states and Washington D.C. Not Colorado. In fact, like many states, we have a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.
Meanwhile, Mike and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary this past April. He is the love of my life and I will keep fighting until we get the same state and federal benefits that any heterosexual couple gets. I do not know the exact number, but did you know that there are over 1,000 benefits that married couples get from the federal government, none extended to same-sex couples?
But back to New York. If you support equality and are as ecstatic about all of the newly married couples in New York as I am, then celebrate! Take your special person out (today is Meatless Monday by the way!), call an elected state or federal official and tell then you support full marriage equality. Make a donation to a local or national group fighting for marriage equality. However you do it, celebrate!
And then pass me some tissue!
Thank you for reading my blog. I am truly grateful. I would love your feedback.
I'm hopeful that some day, my children will be able to tell their kids and their grandkids that they were alive at a time when gay marriage was illegal, and it will be something of wonder. Like hearing my grandparents speak about going to segregated public schools. I'm not proud of the (lame) position we're at now, but anticipate this stupidity going the way of separate water fountains soon.
ReplyDeleteAnd should it happen in my lifetime, even better.
My husband, a musician, played in a wedding band for several years and I remember picking him up from his first gay wedding gig where two men married at an upscale Boston hotel. He was just glowing when I picked him up and said, "That was the best gig I've ever done. Me and the guys [all straight] kept talking about it. There was so much love in that room, it was incredible. You should have been there! And Mark [drummer] was saying, 'That was so much fun! That was so much fun! I so wish I was gay!'" I swear, all the guys in that band were glowing and grinning as they loaded their gear into their cars.
ReplyDeleteMy older brother actually inspired me to meet my husband years ago. He was describing his relationship with his (now) husband and saying, "You know, I know so many people who can hardly wait to get a break from their spouse, but I've never ever felt that. I always really look forward to seeing Chris every night. I just love being with him. I totally get why you hear about one spouse dying and then the other dies right away. I just don't think I could live without Chris." It was then that I realized I had never felt that way about anyone and that I needed to raise the bar quite a bit on the men I was dating. A couple of years later, I met my husband and finally got what my brother was talking about.
So hats off to New York!
I, too, was thrilled when I flipped on the radio and heard that the NY governor had signed the gay marriage bill into law, and that finally, men and women had queued up to marry their same-gendered fiances on Sunday. New York is my hometown, and it is doing me proud. I hope that my adopted hometown of CO will soon follow suit. I had donated and phoned on behalf of Referendum I a few years back and was upset that Coloradans wouldn't even go that far (civil unions). Perhaps things have changed enough so that now we can try for gay marriage in the Rocky Mountain state. Dan and Mike, your beautiful marriage is inspiring to me. I love you! Love ~ Val Traina
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