-What's Gender Got To Do With It?

What’s Gender Got To Do With It?

By: A. T. Miller

Imagine, it's a cool summer night and a romantic dinner is laid out on a beautifully set table under the gleaming moonlight. Your significant other is staring at you lovingly while holding your hand gently and confesses their undying love for you while asking for your hand in marriage. Sounds perfect doesn't it? What if, however, you were forbidden to marry the one you loved and care about the most because of an absurd statute that stated it was unlawful? This is the case for many same-sex couples in the US who want to make a commitment to their partner through marriage.

Currently, there are only 9 states (plus Washington D.C.) in which gay marriage is considered legal. However, because of the Federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) of 1996, the federal government does not recognize same-sex marriages in their system. DOMA clearly states, "the word 'marriage' means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word "spouse" refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife. 1 U.S.C. 7.”

http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Defense+of+Marriage+Act+of+1996

This ultimately means that even though the state deems the marriage legal, the union is considered illegal under federal jurisdiction.

Because of this law, couples of the same sex cannot get married and are not afforded the same benefits as heterosexual couples! Some of these benefits include health insurance coverage for a spouse, and in some cases, the right to adopt children. This is unfortunate for gay couples who are struggling financially because they are in need of health insurance. This is also unfavorable for children in need of a good and stable home that gay couples can sufficiently give them.

The Declaration of Independence states that "All men are created equal" and that they have the right to "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." But if everyone is truly created equally, and has the right to pursue true happiness, why are gay couples denied this right? Outlawing marriage between gay men and women prevents them from being truly happy by denying them the same rights and privileges that straight Americans have.

In Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, the definition of “love” does NOT specify the union as only between a man and a woman. I strongly believe that if someone is in love with a person of the same gender, they should have the right to marry if they so choose. My fellow classmate Amber Smith said, "It doesn't matter if a woman wants to marry a woman, let it be. If a man wants to marry a man, so be it," and I agree wholeheartedly.

Just like love has no color, love should have no gender. Love is love and your sexual orientation should not change that. After all, what's gender got to do with it?