It is incredible and infuriating to me that to this day, Marriage equality is even something that needs discussing. The ruling of the 6th circuit court was an immense failure of the judicial branch to do its job of upholding justice. With the level of entwinement and rights granted by marriage, it is foolish to suggest that it is not a civil right. The declaration of independence spoke of “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness”, and constitutional bans on Marriage Equality directly infringe on these fundamental principles. While not a legal document, the declaration carries heavy weight and sentiment in our culture, and to see it so blatantly disregarded is an insult to our country. Being against marriage equality is inherently homophobic, which really shouldn’t need much explanation, and inherently implies you to be homophobic. Being against an entire subset of individuals for the circumstances of their birth is kinda, you know, terrible. And if you dont want to face the fact that you harbor terrible, harmful believes, if you feel bad for “being labeled” as a bad person because of your beliefs, I really cannot care less. You know what labels I worry about? Getting Fag, Queer, Homo, etc. shouted at me from cars. Hearing it every day because people think its acceptable to use “edgy and harmful” language without considering how it feels to be someone who is the target of all of this. Most relevant in terms of labels however, the one that carries the most power, and the one that to me is most dehumanizing to me and people like me, is “legal strangers”. If I were seeing a man for 20 years, and we lived together, stayed together, were an exemplary couple, and suddenly BAM! Car accident.He lays dying, but I cannot see him, because only next of kin are allowed in the room, and despite being effectively his husband, I would be a perfect legal stranger to him, no different than the person who hit him. If he died, the house that we bought together would be in jeopardy. I would have to jump through hoops to prove it was “our” house, and even then his family could steal it out from under me, and even if he left me an inheritance, they could take that too, because of my potential “undue influence”. After all, in the eyes of the state, I am a perfect stranger, and they are his next of kin. And now I am left homeless and without the man I loved. This was the reality in the 70s and onward, especially when the death was AIDS related. This reality still happens; it is no mere hypothetical unlikely situation. How could anyone in their right mind call this justice? This is a sick, detestable reality brought into our world because of prejudice, and instead of dealing justice, the prejudice has been perpetuated. The 6th circuit court has failed its people to upload an unjust and frankly unconstitutional law (violating equal protection under the 14th amendment of the US. constitution, which btw trumps voters and any state laws because Supremacy Clause is kinda a thing) I know by the time that I would even be remotely ready to consider getting married, that we probably will have marriage equality, and I will be able to marry the man I want to in my own home state, so perhaps it isnt directly relevant to me right now. But is is relevant to the 300 couples who got married when Michigan had justice for one day. It is relevant to LGBTQ individuals in all states of the 6th circuit court. These people are directly being denied civil rights with unjust and unreasonable cause. Perhaps its because I possess the capacity for compassion, but I, for one, cannot be idly okay with the state of our system when it is justifying and perpetuating systematic oppression of people for the crime of being born.
Posted on: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 01:55:49 +0000
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