He comes home from work every evening at six. He’s never late. He sits down to the meal his sweetheart has made him. They eat together and talk about their day. He tells his sweetheart all about the projects his boss has given him, and how stressed he is. But of course, he doesn’t forget to mention to his sweetheart how thankful he is for the delicious dinner. He offers to take his sweetheart to Carvel to get extra large sundaes that they can take home to eat while watching cheesy romance movies. They’re a happy couple, him and his sweetheart. They have it off just fine.

A woman he works with gets home around ten. She stumbles in through the door to see her husband sitting alone on the couch, beer in hand. She asks, although it comes out more like a demand, “where the hell is my dinner, husband?”. He tells her that he ordered pizza, and that it is in the fridge. She walks to the refrigerator, grabs a slice, and goes into her office to isolate herself and attempt to get work done, despite her tipsy state. They’re a married couple, she and her husband. They have it off just fine.



There are quite a few differences between these two couples. The more evident one being that the first couple is happy together, while the second couple is distant from one another. And the implied difference is that the first couple is unmarried, while the second one is. But why isn’t the happy couple married? And why is the unhappy couple married?

Well, the answer is simple. Society does not care if two people are happy together; two unhappy folks can get a marriage license without a problem as long as their unhappiness consists of two things: a man, and a woman. However, society does care if two people are happy together if they happen to be two people of the same sex. Marriage license for two happy men, or two happy women? No way. But hey, the unhappy male and female alcoholics can get one without a problem.



He returns home with his sweetheart and oversized hot fudge sundaes. They cuddle up on the couch, under soft and warm blankets. They turn The Notebook on and share light kisses during the emotional scenes. They fall asleep on the couch together; the two lovely lovers cuddling happily.

She emerges from her office at two in the morning. She staggers to the bedroom, where her husband is already sleeping and snoring quite loudly. She kicks off her heels, one hitting the nightstand and causing her lamp to fall with an extremely loud crash. Her husband wakes up, “what the hell?!”, he exclaims. “Go back to bed, husband”, she nags. And between his snores and complaints and moans, she gets disgusted and leaves, opting for the couch.



Society still has the fusty belief that same-sex marriage is a sin, a foible of mankind. But what is the difference between same-sex marriage and the traditional marriage society is accustomed to? The previous vignettes are only hypothetical situations, and not all gay couples are happy; not all straight couples are unhappy. But they are accurate, nonetheless, when it comes to what is accepted by society and what is not.

Same-sex couples talk together, eat together, fall in love together, move in together just like straight couples do. Same-sex couples go through rough patches, but get through them for the sole purpose of love the same way straight couples do. Same-sex couples sacrifice for one another just like straight couples do. They kiss and they cuddle and they try, all the while being ridiculed for loving their soul mate.

Is there really a love stronger than one that withholds the criticism of society? For two people to remain together, despite the fact that they legally aren’t allowed to be together, requires a great deal of love and courage. And what are marriages supposed to consist of? Love. Love should be the requirement, but sadly society doesn’t agree. Marriage needs only two things: a man, and a woman. Does that not take an enormous amount out of the real meaning of marriage?

To deny two people marriage because of what’s in their pants rather than what’s in their hearts is simply unjust, because in reality, there are very few differences between gay couples and straight couples. It frankly does not make any sense to hand an unhappy man and an unhappy woman a marriage license, yet refrain from giving one to two happy men, or two happy women. Love is love - straight or not.