mermaiden: (Our Family:  Wedding -- Our Handfasting)
posted by [personal profile] mermaiden at 01:42pm on 16/06/2011 under , , ,
My wife was able to articulate my pain and sadness and hope and elation much better than I have been able to in these past few days:

"Why the legalization of gay marriage matters so much" -- new blog post up at Muse Rising by Jenn.



If you aren’t gay, it’s possible (and totally understandable) that you may take for granted the freedom to openly display affection to your significant other in a public–or even semi-private–place. I’m not talking about full-on makeout sessions. I mean hand-holding. Little kisses. An arm around the shoulder or the waist. Using terms of endearment and speaking–without fear of judgment–about the fact that you’re in a romantic relationship with each other.

You should take those things for granted. We all should. Because we all have a right to them.

Obviously, gay people can do these things in public. There’s no law against it. But there’s always that tiny flip-flop of the stomach…the quick survey of who’s standing around, who might be watching, who might take issue with the fact that we’re two women in love. Sarah and I are sensitive people, and one thoughtless comment or disgusted look can turn our simple joy into sadness as quickly as a finger snap.

The legalization of gay marriage isn’t just the legalization of gay marriage. It’s an acknowledgment of equality, of the fact that we have a right to exist and to love. It’s an end to the belittling rehetoric about sexual orientation being a choice–because it’s not a choice. It’s not a label or a fad or a phase. It’s who we are. And to this point, who we are is not recognized or respected by the United States government. The right to marry would change that.


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