Pennsylvania has had marriage equality for one month . .. and the world has not imploded.
Contrary to the fearmongering promulgated by LGBT opponents — many of whom spent June 19 posturing about the doom brought on by marriage equality at the antigay March for Marriage in Washington, D.C. — society has not fallen because same-sex couples were given their equal rights.
The LGBT community was in the local headlines for all of about a week, as news stations and media outlets carried stories of the historic ruling and the subsequent historic weddings. And that was that … Children weren’t recruited on corners to join the LGBT community. Heterosexual weddings weren’t interrupted by a second bride or groom. Churches didn’t have lines of same-sex couples demanding that they wed on their premises. The world continued to turn just as it did on May 19.
But, for the LGBT community, the past month has literally made a world of difference.
Same-sex married couples will now be eligible to join one another’s health-care plans at companies that offer benefits for spouses — which may spell out hundreds of dollars of savings per month for struggling couples or families, not to mention access to health care for individuals who had previously foregone coverage because of cost. Same-sex couples legally wed in other jurisdictions who have since broken up can now formally divorce, enabling them to move on from an experience painful for all couples, and unduly lengthy for same-sex couples. Same-sex couples can jointly file taxes — another potential big money-saver — and are no longer treated as strangers when it comes to inheriting property from a late spouse or transfer shared real estate.
And, same-sex couples are able to stand before loved ones and celebrate their bond — and have that bond recognized by our government.
Opponents may argue that a same-sex relationship isn’t exactly the same as a heterosexual relationship, and in some senses that may be true. But the foundation of a marriage — love, trust, commitment, shared ideals — isn’t predicated on one’s sex. The underlying ties that bring two people together are universal.
But, prior to May 20, the way couples in Pennsylvania were treated wasn’t universal. The same love, trust, commitment and shared ideals existed — as did children, shared mortgages and bank accounts, family woes, triumphs and challenges — but same-sex couples were determined to be less-than.
So how has Pennsylvania changed in the last month? For some, not at all. For others, in every way possible.