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My Turn: Love and commitment The true values of marriage

Chantel Young

Im writing in response to the article Rivals Battle Gay Matrimony, and more importantly to address the people of Tahoe and California regarding same-sex marriage in our state and the rest of America. Everyone is up in arms because the Supreme Court saw that preventing a faction of people from marrying was a clear breach of civil rights and rectified it. They rectified a wrong and should be commended, but instead many are condemning them and preparing to fight. In quotes from both politicians Horne and Logue, they claim they are fighting the Supreme Courts same-sex marriage decision not out of hatred, but because of their personal beliefs. Well I am here to say that their personal beliefs, whether or not they approve of the behavior has no bearing on the rights of Californians, gay or straight.Horne says that shes fighting the Supreme Courts decision because of her beliefs in the Judeo-Christian ethic. Well she needs to brush up on her law, as the United States Constitution guarantees us all a separation of church and state. A civil marriage is an institute of the law, not of any church and should be treated like one. We need to respect each others differences, religious or otherwise. Opposing factors maintain that allowing gays to marry is ungodly and would tear the institution of marriage as we know it asunder. As unpopular as this statement may be, marriage, as a state institution, may need to be torn asunder, and retooled to free it from discrimination, as should any institution embracing inequality. As AU law professor Jamie Raskin replied to Senator Nancy Jacobs comment that her bible says marriage is only between a man and woman; Senator, when you took your oath of office you placed your hand on the bible and swore to uphold the Constitution. You did not place your hand on the Constitution and swear to uphold the bible.Horne also claims that marriage as one man and one woman has existed for thousands of years and needs to be protected. To this I remind her that that selfsame traditional marriage has run the gauntlet of discrimination in its past, including such eras as a woman essentially belonging to man, to one of only whites being allowed to marry, to that of no interracial unions, to our current concept of marriage. In a nation where strangers marry for money on television and celebrities are known for short, meaningless marriages, the tradition we should be protecting is that of love and commitment, the true values of marriage. There are thousands of loving, committed couples in this state who want nothing more than to join themselves in love and matrimony, and as Americans its our duty to protect and guarantee that they have the same civil liberties as any American. A marriage will survive not because of some outside force of antiquated strictures but because the people in it have their own ethics and integrity, and they work, as it were, to make it work. The sacredness of marriage lies in the beauty of two individuals promise of respect and commitment, and gender has got naught to do with that. Love has everything to do with it.Freedom is an elusive, unattainable ideal, but striving for it has made our country great. Its never easy. In fact, fighting for it is extremely difficult and time consuming, but its worth it every time. Throughout American history we have met different social injustices in often violent clashes, but through struggle and perseverance have won through to do right. Weve confronted copious civil rights issues from slavery, to womens rights, to segregation, and now theres another to address: same-sex marriage. California has stepped up to the plate and taken steps to tear away oppression and uphold our values of equality and freedom, we need to celebrate and support that.Every single human deserves free will providing it hurts no one else. Its a pipe dream in many places around the world, but in America the dream is realized every day. We have so many rights that so many others do not, but we should never stop fighting for more. This is America, the land of the free. We need to fight for our freedom, and marriage discrimination is a barrier to freedom we have to conquer. This is America, the home of the brave. We need to be brave enough to accept change, even if it scares us. Because it is a fact that each human being has the intrinsic right to love and be loved, and with that comes the right to marry who we want, regardless of whose ideas it threatens. Diversity is a beautiful thing, without it the world would be a boring place. I just want to stand in front of the people that matter most to me, and do this thing. I want to hold her hands in mine, say aloud my lifetime commitment and marry the woman I love.

Chantel Young is is a Tahoma resident


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