I live in Indianapolis, Indiana, and today I am proud to be a Hoosier.

Same-Sex Marriage Is Now Legal For A Majority Of The U.S.:

The Supreme Court of The United States made an elephant-sized decision that will effectively expand same-sex marriage across the entire country.

The decision was a bit of a surprise, yet it has cleared the way for same-sex marriages in five more states: Indiana, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Utah and Virginia. Furthermore, appeals court in Colorado, Kansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia and Wyoming will probably strike down the ban, as well.

In total, same-sex marriage is about to be legal in 29 states!

This just might be the historical tipping point. It seems that the courts are finally catching up with popular opinion—a majority of mindful Americans support gay marriage.

Love is winning!

“It doesn’t have any effect on your life. What do you care?!” People try to talk about it like it’s a social issue. Like when you see someone stand up on a talk show and say, “How am I supposed to explain to my children that two men are getting married?” “I dunno. It’s your shitty kid. You f***in’ tell ‘em. Why is that anyone else’s problem? Two guys are in love and they can’t get married because you don’t want to talk to your ugly child for five f***in’ minutes?” ~ Louis C. K.

It is interesting to watch how kids react to the issue of gay marriage.

No, scratch that—it’s refreshing.

When I ask my teenage niece about same-sex marriage she doesn’t even bat an eyelash. Her generation supports human rights universally, and she adds, “There is no valid reason to hate gay people.”

I am proud of her.

I do understand that some people out there want to protect traditional family values…but I will never understand how or why it is ever okay for any of us to dictate the rights of others.

Our spiritual journeys are individual and highly personal, and other humans don’t have the right to regulate them. Like the joke says, “If you don’t like gay marriage, don’t get one!”

It’s true that our children will look back on us just the way we look back on the injustices against blacks and women. At least today, in Indiana, marriage is now a human right and not a heterosexual privilege.

Here are some reasons why I support gay marriage:

• Gay couples should have access to the same benefits as everyone else. I’m talking about hospital visitations, health coverage and taxes.
• Gay marriages can financially benefit state and local governments. 
• Gay marriage licenses and the so-called “marriage penalty” (i.e., higher income taxes) will generate millions of dollars.
• Gay marriage makes it easier for same-sex couples to adopt. Hundreds of thousands of children in the US are waiting to be adopted. Providing them a stable home would help keep them out of foster care.
• Gay marriage legalization is correlated with lower divorce rates, while gay marriage bans are associated with higher divorce rates.  States that have legalized gay marriage have lower divorce rates overall.

Allowing same-sex couples to get married won’t harm heterosexual marriages and it’s not going to erode “family values.” Society will be just fine.

Love elephant and want to go steady?

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Editor: Renée Picard

Photo: courtesy of the author