Separate But Equal? Not Equal At All

When I was younger, I didn't think gay marriage was that important. Up until the day that the Ontario Court of Appeal legalized same-sex marriage in Ontario back in 2003, I didn't really believe in it, and thought that "civil unions" would be enough. But ever since that day, I realized that nothing less than marriage would be enough. Until we had marriage, we would never be equal.

Even if the only difference between civil unions and marriage was the name, it would still be unequal. Gay rights advocates use the term "equal marriage". It should be equal to a straight marriage in every way. And it is, here in Canada. I can't speak for other jurisdictions, but some people want to "compromise" by giving us only civil unions. That's just not right in my mind. You cant' "compromise" on civil rights. You either have them, or you don't. We want ALL our rights, and we want them to be equal. Having a different word for it just gives them a reason to see us as "the other". And you can always dehumanize "the other". It's exclusionary. And it's meant to divide us. It's not done with good intentions, so it cannot lead to good.

I'm very proud of all those who have fought for gay marriage. Especially groups like Lambda Legal in the United States, and EqualMarriage.ca. What they have done is amazing and should be appreciated by all people, gay and straight, in the entire world. It's amazing progress, and it can be slow work, but attitudes are slowly changing. There are gay rights advocates in the most unlikely of places. Many of whom suffer discrimination (or worse) every day. People have died for our rights, and we should honour them.