Today the Supreme Court declined the petition to hear the appeals of the federal decisions that allow same sex marriage in several states. The practical effect is to make same sex marriage legal in the five states in the recent decisions including Utah where I live. Back in December when the original federal decision was issued, several friends were among the 1200 plus couples to legally wed as I noted at the time. I spent many years working for other areas of lgbt rights and recognition. I was the coach of the local lgbt swimming team, President of International Gay and Lesbian Aquatics, and a voting delegate of the Federation of Gay Games, popularly called the gay Olympics though that term was prohibited by the Supreme Court. I swam in the Gay Games in Sydney, Australia and even won the first gold medal in swimming of that major event by swimming in Ian Thorpe's lane to win the 400 meter freestyle in record time, the first of my five golds from the meet.
My husband and I are beneficiaries of previous court rulings that allow mixed race marriage. I am also someone who has gone through various types of discrimination including being disowned by my paternal grandmother when I married my husband and ostracized by several members of my mother's family for that same marriage. If the United States wants to be a nation of laws, then those laws need to be applied equally and rationally.
So same sex marriage is legal in Utah--hell has not frozen over and pigs aren't flying though a couple of moronic legislators have already proposed instituting two levels of marriage in Utah--religiously recognized marriage and something they are calling "pairage". Feel free to laugh out loud at that.
No comments:
Post a Comment