UTAH TECH UNIVERSITY'S STUDENT NEWS SOURCE | March 29, 2024

The Skewed Review: Marriage equality hasn’t changed lives of those who oppose

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I didn’t marry for love.

I got married because he needed a green card and was willing to fork out some serious cash to stay in the U.S. legally. I also tied the knot because our parents made a deal because our two families would be more powerful if we were united. I also got married because he’s a lot older than I am and he has a fortune tucked away, so when he goes, I’ll get a pile of cash. I got married because couples united legally under the law are afforded certain tax breaks. Oh, and I got married because we got pregnant and, you know, you’re supposed to get married if one of you gets pregnant.

OK, you got me. I married for love. Nobody would get married for those mundane reasons I listed above, would they? I mean, that’s just ridiculous. That would be a slap in the face of the sanctity of marriage. 

I didn’t know what I thought the married life would be like, but it’s exactly the same as my life before marriage. Only now, our union is recognized — federally, at least — by the law, and the two of us are now officially a family.

We didn’t force any church to marry us, so religion wasn’t involved in any way, shape or form. We united in a very intimate ceremony in a small room in an Orange County, California, courthouse.    

Our marriage hasn’t invalidated any other marriage, at least to my knowledge. It definitely has pissed some people off, but I don’t know why. I guess I should be flattered that my life is incredibly important to other people who don’t even know me. 

So I’m still trying to figure out why people, specifically in the state of Utah, refuse to acknowledge my marriage to my husband. When all our lovey-doviness is taken away, we are just bound by a legal contract, really. 

And if I were a woman, or if he were a woman, then there’d be no problem whatsoever. I could marry for money. I could marry for a green card. I could marry for power. I could marry to keep a child from being illegitimate. I could marry with the full intention of getting divorced. I could spit on the sanctity of marriage, flip it off and call it the C-word, but nobody would care as long as there was one man and one woman involved. 

But, marrying for love seems to be an issue. 

I’m not complaining; hopefully my snark has translated somewhat. I just want everyone to realize how ridiculous it is to tell someone not to love another person and go out of your way to stop it — especially when their love has nothing to do with you. 

This week’s rating goes to everyone who thinks marriage should only be reserved for people with certain genitals: You get to have your own relationships nullified based on something stupid, like hair color or favorite song. 

Although that isn’t something that will actually happen, I want you to at least think about what that would feel like. 

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