Think marriage is an outmoded, assimilationist institution?
Relatively unimportant on the spectrum of LGBT rights issues? Not worth
focusing on or fighting for?
Tell that to couples like John Arthur and Jim Obergefell, or Edie
Windsor and Thea Spyer, who waited for decades to legally marry and were
able to just in time. Or tell that to someone like Derence Kernek,
whose beloved partner Ed Watson died in 2011 before they ever had the chance.
Marriage matters, folks.
John Arthur and Jim Obergefell have been together for more than 20
years. When the Supreme Court struck down the heart of the Defense of
Marriage Act last month, they decided that they wanted to marry.
But there were two major problems: the couple lives in Ohio -- which
has a constitutional marriage discrimination amendment that makes
same-sex marriages illegal -- and John is bedridden with a debilitating
terminal disease called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which progressively robs its victims of voluntary muscle function.
Anthony Venn-Brown
Anthony Venn-Brown is the co-founder and former leader of Freedom2b, Australia’s largest network of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) people from Christian backgrounds. He is also an educator and consultant on LGBT/faith issues and leader in deconstructing the ‘ex-gay’ myth. Anthony’s autobiography 'A Life of Unlearning', details his journey from married, high profile preacher in Australia’s mega-churches to living as an openly gay man. Anthony has been twice voted ‘One of the 25 Most Influential Gay and Lesbian Australians’ (2007 & 2009) and was one of four finalists for the 2011 ACON Community Hero Award. He is also the founder and director of Ambassadors & Bridge Builders International.
Labels: marriage equality
