To begin with, I want to express my feelings on the institution of marriage. This institution has a very sorted history. At one time, women were considered property. Marriage was a business agreement between two men to exchange property. The dowry that went with a women, along with her homemaking skills made her a more valuable commodity. Personally, I find the history of being considered property pretty abhorrent.
The institution of marriage has evolved. I can’t say that it has done so for the better. In my opinion, a relationship is meant to be between two people. In today’s society, marriage brings crowds of people into a relationship. First there is the church/priest/pastor or whoever performs the ceremony. For many people, this person is a lifelong church elder who remains a counselor and a part of their lives for the duration of their marriage. Next, you have the state and federal governments, who must not only issue the marriage license giving permission for the wedding in the first place, but also control the taxes (and special tax breaks) after the wedding takes place. Once the marriage takes place, there are friends, relatives, in-laws and many others who feel that they have a special right to advice people on their relationship since the marriage is now “official.” All this could begin to explain the nearly 70% divorce rate in the US at this point. All of this is why I do not intend to get married. My relationship is my own, and no one else’s business.
Regardless of my personal feelings on the subject of marriage, the concept that our government would actually deny the right to marry to a particular segment of our population simply blows my mind. The dark ages were hundreds of years ago. Of course, this country was still unenlightened enough to legally discriminate by race as little as 60 years ago, wasn’t it?
I came across this video, and was touched by the uninhibited honesty and compassion coming from these kids. It is refreshing to see that only one of these children seems to have absorbed the fear and hate exhibited by his parents. I really think that a lot of adults could learn a lot just by listening to the honesty and frankness of children like these.
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