A Disservice To Our Nation

As I was reading the same sex marriage FAQ's, I was shocked by the rights denied to same sex couples. Coming from a very liberal family and diverse high-school, I could never imagine what it would be like to restrict someones' rights due to their sexual preference. I also have a personal connection with this issue because my aunt married another woman in MA. At the time, I did not fully understand the implications of her marriage. A few years after her marriage, her and her partner came back to visit my family and I for the holidays. At dinner my aunt started discussing the frustrations she had with marriage rights. I remember her stating how unfair it was to be treated so differently just because she was in love with another woman. How come my dad, who just simply because he married someone of the opposite sex, had so many more rights than she did? I knew that things were different for same sex couples, yet I still had trouble grasping the difference. I just figured it was day to day issues, instead of major legal rights.

After reading the FAQ's, my eyes were finally opened up to the issues my aunt had been discussing. Right before her marriage she had gotten into an accident horse back riding. It was after this accident that she realized she wanted to marry her partner. But, as I read the FAQ's I couldn't help but think of my aunt and what if they had been married already? Her partner would not have gotten visitation rights to see her in the hospital even though she had just as much reason to visit as my father or grandfather did. The woman she loved and was married to, technically wouldn't have been considered "family". I frankly was appalled by the difference of rights and now can better understand some of the issues my aunt was facing.

Though my aunt and her partner are not longer together, I still feel that she has had a huge disservice in her life. If she wanted to grow old with her partner, they wouldn't even be able to stay together in a nursing home. I feel embarrassed for our country because while we are so progressive, there are clearly still obvious inequalities that affect our population.