Only 32 percent of the United States has legalized same-sex marriage. Thousands of individuals are restrained by the laws regarding same-sex marriage, which are immoral and discriminatory to gay couples and families.
According to CNN, 16 states have legalized same-sex marriage. Colorado is the only state that allows civil unions. Unfortunately, any resident outside these borders does not have the luxury of marrying the person they love. What exactly is the difference between marriage and civil unions? Marriage is a relationship status that is recognized federally and internationally. A civil union is defined as the legal status that ensures same-sex couples specified rights and responsibilities of married couples. What this means is that civil unions are not recognized by the federal government and only by the state government. Erratic state marriage laws create restrictions for couples on things such as moving, traveling and military members who consistently move for their job. The inconsistency between states allows for discrimination toward gay couples in places that choose to void a legal marriage or not allow gay marriage at all.
A couple engaging in a civil union does not get the same rights as a married couple, either. In fact, there are more than 1,000 different rights they are not eligible to receive, according to the National Organization for Women. Some of the most important rights are Social Security benefits, joint tax filing, pensions, family medical plans, family leave, green cards for immigrant spouses, medical decision making, and deceased decision making. Married gay couples are also not allowed to get divorced in the two-thirds of states that do not support same-sex marriage. If your rights were stripped from you at this moment, would you be affected? Of course. A person not having rights means not being protected to be treated ethically and morally right.
A real life example of the problems that come with selective marriage rights occurred in the Windsor v. Supreme Court case of December 2013. According to a New York Times article, when Edith Windsor's lesbian partner of over 40 years passed away, Windsor was stuck with an estate tax of more than $300,000 due to the official classification of their relationship. Paying thousands of dollars to own a home one has lived in for almost 40 years is unjust and would be easily avoidable if same-sex marriage was nationalized.
It is not beneficial to our society for our country to discriminate and separate part of its own culture. It is not beneficial to our society for people to feel inadequate and disconnected from their counterparts. And it is definitely not beneficial to our society to let these people live without the support of legality and our government. We are outcasting a specific group of people from our society and treating them like second-class citizens.
Give these individuals the support they deserve by joining various organizations throughout the community. Some of these organizations are The Center, the Colorado State University Campus GLBTQ Resource Center, and the American Civil Liberties Union. These organizations strive to advocate, promote equality, and fight against discrimination based on sexual identity and orientation. You can help today by volunteering or donating to these organizations.
In the words of Thomas Jefferson, "If a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey it, he is obligated to do so."
Tianna Griffis is a Fort Collins resident.