Freedom to Marry

How sad it is that I had so little faith in the state of Minnesota that I thought it'd be decades before all people in our state would be legally allowed to marry?  Less than a year ago our state was actually voting on whether to use our state constitution to discriminate against a group of our fellow residents.  I was actually surprised, but elated, when the majority vote was no.  I was so proud of Minnesota. 

Today I have more reason to be proud.  At the stroke of midnight, gay couples were finally able to receive the same recognition from the state that Chris and I have had for nearly five years.  They have shown their commitment to each other by the years (or decades) they've been together, the children they raise together and the homes they own together.  Until today, they shared the same responsibilities as Chris and I have, but without the protections and recognition we take for granted.

I'm relieved the struggle to achieve marriage equality in Minnesota is finally over.  It was tiring and depressing to listen to all the hate spewed.  Of course the hateful comments and bigotry aren't going to disappear.  But for all those complaining that gay marriage is going to threaten the sanctity of marriage and ruin the moral fiber of our state - that's all just background noise for me now. 

I'll leave you with a quote from Mildred Loving, who along with her husband, whom she had legally married in Washington D.C., were arrested in Virginia in 1959 for violating a state law which prohibited interracial couples from being married out of state and then returning to Virginia.

"I believe all Americans, no matter their race, no matter their sex, no matter their sexual orientation, should have that same freedom to marry... I am still not a political person, but I am proud that Richard’s and my name is on a court case that can help reinforce the love, the commitment, the fairness and the family that so many people, black or white, young or old, gay or straight, seek in life. I support the freedom to marry for all. That’s what Loving, and loving, are all about."

- Mildred Loving, June 2007, on the 40th anniversary of the issuance of the Supreme Court's decision in Loving v. Virginia