As the debate over same-sex marriage has raged here in the Bay State, I've kept mostly quiet, because so much was and is being said elsewhere, more thoughtfully and eloquently than I can manage. A lot of people seem to be growing bored of the debate -- from this Boston Globe columnist to fellow blogger the Redhead -- and suggest that there are more important things to tackle. I frankly can't think of anything more important than basic civil rights. Without the idea of equality (which I know I foolishly cling to) and the freedom to be simply who you are, what is there to live for? Why should anyone ever stop fighting for the right to be treated the same as those in the empowered majority (be that in terms of sexual orientation, race, religion, or sex)?
I have a hard time writing about things that make me truly, deeply angry. (That's why I was never any good at debate -- unless you want to argue something I don't care about. Then I can talk you into an early grave.) This issue makes me angry on so many levels -- separation of church and state, equality under the law, separate is not equal -- but mostly, it makes me sad. (Which makes it even more difficult to write.) I am saddened that anyone would seek to stop a loving, committed couple from getting married. I can't even fathom why anyone would want to. I don't care what you think your god wants -- your god is not my god, and no one's god should have anything to do with the law. How can anyone hate an entire group of people so much that they would deny them the right to marry whomever they chose? I mean, it's not like they're UConn fans. That I could understand.
(You didn't think I'd let a post go by without some kind of crack, did you? Photos courtesy of my lovely friend Pam, who trekked down to the State House.)
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