Some New York Pride as (Gay) Marriage Equality Bill Finally Passes

The email came in about 10:30 this evening:

History has been made. Moments ago, The New York State Senate voted on and passed the Marriage Equality Act, and within a matter of weeks, New York will become the 6th and largest state where same-sex couples can get legally married! The bill, to be signed by Governor Cuomo soon...

I checked my Facebook:

"Congratulations New York."

"I Love New York"

"What an amazing night to be a New Yorker."

Yes, it's true. After years and months of fighting for the right to legally marry in the State of New York, our state senators and assemblymen have finally added our great state to the list of now six states to legalize same sex marriage. Six down, forty-four to go...

For anyone who knows me, they know that I am not a fan of marriage, any kind of marriage. I've never been a believer of the "til death do us part" mantra. Some may think I'm a pessimist where relationships are concerned, but through what I can see and read and from my own experiences I've found that it is a rare thing that any two people can and should remain the twinkle in one another's eyes forever and ever. It does happen, I'm sure, but not as often as we'd all like to believe.

Statistics aside, whenever two people choose to tie the knot they should be allowed to do so, regardless of race, color, religious background, or even sexual orientation. The historic vote today added my state, New York, to the list of state governments that officially claim this to be true. No longer will gay people be shunned from the many laws that benefit heterosexual couples that choose to marry. In many ways, gay people across New York State are finally on equal footing with their heterosexual counterparts.

Gay marriage has always been a civil rights issue. A little over a year ago I published a piece that outlined all of the rights and benefits given to traditional married couples that have always been denied to same sex couples, and they cover such vital areas as healthcare, taxation, bereavement, insurance, property and immigration law, as well as mobility, housing, parenting and inheritance. Looking at these issues makes it plain to see that gay people have been methodically discriminated against throughout the history of legal marriage in this country, much like African-Americans and women had been denied many a right in their storied histories.

Back in the late 1950's many states had laws on the books banning interracial marriage, and the justifications behind them were just as ludicrous as many of the reasons given for not legalizing same sex marriage today. Those laws were changed in the years following a much publicized Supreme Court case in which an interracial couple, Mildred and Richard Loving, who'd gone from their native Virginia to Washington D.C. to legally wed, were actually arrested for sleeping in the same bed upon their return to their home state.

Today we look back on their case in disbelief. Interracial marriage today is as common as anything, and it's hard to believe that these conditions ever existed, but they did. With the giant step New York took today, hopefully one day we'll look back upon these past thirty years or so with the same disbelief that we do of what happened to the Lovings.

I am proud to be a New Yorker today, very proud. Regardless of my own personal views on marriage, I believe that everyone of proper age should have the right to wed, not just straight people. I want to personally thank all of the people who've fought so hard to make this dream a reality, and I hope that more states will follow suit in the near future. This historic vote couldn't have come at a more appropriate time, considering that June is Gay Pride Month and New York City will have one more thing to celebrate when it commemorates Gay Pride Day this Sunday. Congratulations New York, and thanks for making me proud!