One thing hasn’t changed since I last blogged – my home state of Indiana is still completely terrible. A federal judge ordered Indiana to recognize the out-of-state same sex marriage of a couple with one terminally ill individual. Indiana, showing it’s true Christian love and compassion, has asked the judge to put a stay on the ruling and also has filed a formal appeal. Because allowing one lesbian couple to be recognized as a couple is one too many for this bigoted state.
The Indiana attorney general’s office said in court documents that recognition of the couple’s marriage now could raise false hopes for others because courts might eventually uphold the state’s gay marriage ban.
“The traditional definition of marriage has been around for a long time. Its validity is hotly contested, but the outcome of these legal disputes is uncertain,” the state said in its request for a stay.
So let me get this straight. Indiana doesn’t want to get false hope to LGBT couples, because it knows it’ll be the one personally squashing their hopes. How…considerate? And don’t even get me started on the outcome being uncertain. If you look at the wave of states legalizing gay marriage and the fact that the majority of Americans now support gay marriage, and you don’t see the inevitability of the whole situation, you’re in denial.
This case makes me sad on a personal level. Again, the couple is from my home town of Munster, Indiana (what are the odds?). Not only that, but the woman is dying of stage four ovarian cancer, which is what my mom passed away from. Watching my mother slowly waste away and have her life destroyed by this horrible disease was so painful to watch. Her only solace was having her family around her and knowing we would be well taken care of when she was gone. I can’t even imagine dealing with that nightmare while also wondering if you’ll be able to visit each other in the hospital or receive any death benefits to support your children.
But good job, Indiana. Because you stuck by your “values,” you’ve managed to make a dying woman’s last months of life even worse, a truly impressive feat. A couple of years from now when gay marriage is legalized everywhere and you’re dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century, I’m sure your decision will be completely worth it.
2 comments
Seth says:
May 10, 2014
This kind of bullshit makes me extremely glad I live in Canada; human rights don’t work in a federal fashion, and the swiss-cheese, piecemeal advance of gay rights in the United States is simply a tragedy for people like the couple involved in the above case. It’s also a travesty of justice. Human rights don’t evaporate when you step over an imaginary line. States which fail to recognise the full humanity of gay people are violating their rights, full stop.
Michael Neville says:
May 11, 2014
The Indiana Attorney General is whistling in the wind. It’s becoming more and more obvious that same-sex marriage will be recognized as legal throughout the US despite what the religious right’s homophobia.