Responding Post

I have to agree with Jia and Caroline when they say that they had an eye opening experience after reading the same sex marriage articles. Before reading this article, I just thought that gays and lesbians were fighting for the legalization of same sex marriage because of the title of being married. I had never thought about how much comes with marriage regarding property, children, social security, health insurance, estate taxes, retirement savings etc. In 10th grade, I living in a dorm with women faculty advisors that were married to each other. These two women were by far the most amazing and inspirational people that I have encountered in my life. On breaks, they would go up to their cabin in Vermont, where they also got married to each other. To think that not everyone has this freedom of choice really maddens me. Luckily my two advisors were able to find a PREP school that allowed them to be with each other and both teach at the school without any different treatment. However the fact that they do not receive some of the benifits that come with marriage is infuriating. Not every gay or lesbian couple has the privilege of working together and living together like my faculty advisors have. However if they are legal citizens why is this right to marriage being denied? In amendment 14 of the Constitution it states: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

Ettelbrook makes a great statement when she says that we need to legalize same sex marriage in order for their to be social acceptance of gays and lesbians in our society.

I was inspired by the initiative that Andrea Vaccaro took in buying the wedding dress for protests and rallies. I thought that this was a very powerful gesture on her part and it was interesting to read her story and perspective on same sex marriage as a lesbian.