Today the State's supreme court decided the issue of who can get married in California. The answer is, everyone. Gay or straight, marriage is a right and there is no second-class status in their state.
I'm a proud resident of Massachusetts and I will never forget the day the court ruled in favor of the Goodridge Plaintiffs. I raised my fists up to the sky and felt powerful in a way that I had never felt before. I was equal. Discriminating against my right to marriage was unconstitutional. It was not acceptable in the eyes of the law.
As a lesbian, I have never felt protected by the law. When we went through the process of second parent adoption in Massachusetts for our three boys, each time I had a lump in my throat. The laws were created to keep people like me away.
No more.
California has taken the next step in the fight for equality. Without question. There are many more to take before LGBT people are seen as equals in the law, equals in this country on both state and federal levels.
And there will be backlash, threats of the end of the world. Funny thing is, we're still all alive and breathing in Massachusetts. Heterosexuals are still getting married -- and divorced -- at the same rate as always. The biggest difference is a lot of kids, like mine, have their families protected.
Rights guaranteed.
Because it's not about "gay marriage." It's about equal access to a legal institution that has been created to ensure committed couples are protected. It ensures the children of that couple are protected under the law. There have been thousands of legal precedents based on the institution of marriage that simply cannot be replicated by a new term, or new legal definition.
And no one is going to force any religious institution to embrace is because in our country, we have a separation of church and state. I know it doesn't seem like we do, but in fact, that is required by our constitution.
Congratulations, California. Welcome to the increasing number of states that refuse to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation.
It feels good, doesn't it?