Admittedly, this is much belated, but I wanted to give props to New York for passing the Marriage Equality Act in their State Senate on June 24. I'm sure opposition exists, and everyone is entitled to their opinion, but hearing people talk about how happy they were and seeing people celebrate in New York, which was already preparing for their annual Gay Pride, was nothing but joyful. I was thrilled and honestly overwhelmed by how incredibly lucky I felt to be surrounded by people from all different venues of my life who were celebrating equal recognition by the law for thousands of people in New York who are now able to marry the one they love.
Historically, we have denied certain groups of people this right based on all sorts of silly ideas. For instance, in ancient China, people with the same surname were not to marry as that was considered incestuous... but marrying one's maternal relatives was a-okay! In the United States, Jim Crow laws prevented marriages between blacks and whites in many states all the way into the 1960s.
Some would argue that the Bible (and perhaps other religious doctrine, though I do not know for certain) is opposed to same sex marraige, but I say any God/Being, who is as lovely as all religions claim them to be, would celebrate the happiness of their followers in their faithful, loving relationships.
Now, this is not to say this is a perfect institution. There are certainly internationally condemned traditions such as forced marriage, child brides, and many more I'm sure I've never even heard of. But as we celebrate with our friends and family this wedding season, we can all be a little happier that more people have the option of choosing marriage to recognize their love with the one they love.
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