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For many same-sex couples, the fight
for equality has been a constant; legal marriage has always been at
the forefront of this battle for equal rights. In the past year, the
increase in media exposure for marriage equality has had its positives
and negatives. Though this visibility has led to an increase in homophobic
rhetoric, including the recent passing of a state constitution amendment
by eleven states on November 2, 2004, it has at the very least gotten
people to talk about marriage equality, and at the most, created situations in which marriage may now be becoming an option
for a limited number of queers, thanks to Massachusetts, people like
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and “activist judges” across
the country. Though the legality of most of these court issued contracts has
been delegitimated and the supposed same-sex marriage equality
in Massachusetts, Vermont and Oregon are not really equal, many same-sex partners were able to walk into
a courthouse for the first time and legally be issued a government
document allowing them, if only for a moment, a human right they perhaps
never thought they would obtain. Unfortunately, the majority of these
documents are nothing more than a piece of paper and even for states
where marriage may be legalized, they do not allow for the federal
benefits that heterosexual families receive when they enter into a
marriage contract.
Hence, marriage equality is a battle that is just begining, even for
those issued a marriage license. There are some battles within the queer community against the debate for marriage equality. Many are against being a part of the religious heterosexual institution that is marriage. Many of the people that are against marriage within the queer community have stepped aside to allow for equality, regardless of whether or not they agree with it.
This debate becomes more complicated for people who are transgender, and thus has been given its own site.
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