Today is National Marriage Equality day and to celebrate proponents of same-sex marriage are encouraged to go to Starbucks today to show their support. The fact that it is 2012 and we have to rally support for any kind of equality in this country is really upsetting. From a personal perspective, we are a Christian, married couple that are proud to say like President Obama we support same-sex marriage. We do not believe the government should have any control in who we love or how we express that love. As a “traditional” married couple, it does not infringe on my rights if a gay or lesbian couple are allowed to marry. In fact, I would argue that giving them the same rights insures equality and fair treatment for us all. Supporters of Prop 8 in California, a constitutional amendment to prohibit same sex marriage, also argued that our children would be adversely affected if same-sex marriages were legalized. It was their view that California public school districts would be required to teach children in grades K-12 that same-sex marriage is equal in every way to traditional marriage. Well, one could argue that same-sex couples will continue to exist whether marriage is legal or not and when these same-sex couples choose to raise a family our children will inevitably know that there are some families that have two Moms or two Dads. So prohibiting marriage doesn’t mean that you can protect children from knowing that same-sex couples exist and wouldn’t it be better for them to be married rather than cohabitating? We have taught our children to respect everyone regardless of race, religious beliefs or sexual orientation.
We believe that opposition to gay marriage is not just a defeat for same-sex couples but for any minority group that seeks the protection of the equal protection clause of the California Constitution. So, go to Starbucks today and have a latte in support of equality, not just for same-sex marriages but equality for all.
