04/09/2013
Same-sex marriage in the United States has come a long way since Massachusetts issued its first marriage license in 2004. After almost a decade, public opinion has shifted overwhelmingly in favor of the issue, and the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments challenging California’s Proposition 8 and the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
While the Supreme Court is not set to make a decision until June of this year, the "elevated public discourse has in and of itself moved people along in their own evolution in how we as a society should address same-sex couple," said Senior Staff Attorney for the Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) Vickie Henry.
The pictures in the media in the last few weeks, of people talking to and seeing loving same-sex couples, help silence those who oppose same-sex marriage, Henry said.
"I think that other people were influenced because they saw these couples coming together and being married, and what they saw was that the same-sex couples are marrying for the same reasons and that touched hearts and helped them in their own evolution in their position," she said.
According to a breakdown of key data points by the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan, nonprofit fact tank, 66 percent of Americans say same-sex couples should have the same legal rights as heterosexual couples. The most often cited reason for a change in attitude was having friends, family or acquaintances who are gay or lesbian.
But despite popular opinion and state-by-state policies, same-sex couples still face disadvantages on the federal level.
Bette Jo and Jo Anne Whitehead.
Photo: Courtesy of GLAD.
"Bette Jo and I sued the Social Security administration," Whitehead said.
It started when Green took a GLAD survey. Even though they were not yet retired, the couple wanted to see if there were any disadvantages they would face as a legally married same-sex couple when retirement came.
Whitehead worked as a nurse, and Green was an educator for nonprofits. Usually, when married couples apply for Social Security benefits, the spouse with lesser benefits can apply for either their own or half of their spouse's benefit.
"When we tried to have Jo Anne apply for half of my Social Security, they denied us," Green said. "Therefore we sued them."
They estimated the loss would be about $3,600.
Green and Whitehead said they have had no problems with any of the state regulations and feel supported as a married couple on that level. But they say it is unfair to be denied federal benefits heterosexual couples enjoy.
Their case has been successfully deliberated in the United States Court of Appeals for the First District, and is currently pending in the Supreme Court.
For Qian Yu, a 23-year-old graduate student at Emerson College, "marriage and love are fundamental for every human being." Originally from Heifei, China, he did not come out as gay until he came to the United States.
His middle school teacher thought him a womanizer for spending most of his times among girls, and the Chinese college professor he came out to called him "immoral."
Yu has a boyfriend now and is happier than ever, he said. He has embraced who and what he is, and said he feels confident and optimistic about the direction the American public is taking on the issue of same-sex marriage.
"Even if DOMA isn’t repealed this summer, I think our community will fight," Yu said.
Given how rapidly the community has come to support equal rights for same-sex marriage, the issue has good prospects, Yu said.
Green and Whitehead attended recalled their experience at the rally in front of the Supreme Court Building in Washington, DC.
"It was good that we went, because we met a lot of people from all over the country who are supportive of striking down DOMA," Whitehead said. "It was a very wonderful experience for us to stand in front of this building that said "Equal justice under the law.
It started when Green took a GLAD survey. Even though they were not yet retired, the couple wanted to see if there were any disadvantages they would face as a legally married same-sex couple when retirement came.
Whitehead worked as a nurse, and Green was an educator for nonprofits. Usually, when married couples apply for Social Security benefits, the spouse with lesser benefits can apply for either their own or half of their spouse's benefit.
"When we tried to have Jo Anne apply for half of my Social Security, they denied us," Green said. "Therefore we sued them."
They estimated the loss would be about $3,600.
Green and Whitehead said they have had no problems with any of the state regulations and feel supported as a married couple on that level. But they say it is unfair to be denied federal benefits heterosexual couples enjoy.
Their case has been successfully deliberated in the United States Court of Appeals for the First District, and is currently pending in the Supreme Court.
For Qian Yu, a 23-year-old graduate student at Emerson College, "marriage and love are fundamental for every human being." Originally from Heifei, China, he did not come out as gay until he came to the United States.
His middle school teacher thought him a womanizer for spending most of his times among girls, and the Chinese college professor he came out to called him "immoral."
Yu has a boyfriend now and is happier than ever, he said. He has embraced who and what he is, and said he feels confident and optimistic about the direction the American public is taking on the issue of same-sex marriage.
"Even if DOMA isn’t repealed this summer, I think our community will fight," Yu said.
Given how rapidly the community has come to support equal rights for same-sex marriage, the issue has good prospects, Yu said.
Green and Whitehead attended recalled their experience at the rally in front of the Supreme Court Building in Washington, DC.
"It was good that we went, because we met a lot of people from all over the country who are supportive of striking down DOMA," Whitehead said. "It was a very wonderful experience for us to stand in front of this building that said "Equal justice under the law.
