On Valentine’s Day, February 14, same-sex couples will once again request marriage licenses at their local County Clerk’s offices in cities all over the country. These actions will not only draw attention to the lack of marriage equality between heterosexual and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and otherwise Queer (LGBTQ) Americans, but it will also raise awareness about the harms and the impact that the inability to marry causes those families that are forbidden access to the protections granted by the civil right of marriage.
“Between Austin, San Antonio, Houston and Dallas over 8,000 same-sex couples are raising children. Our state legislature and our federal government have denied us the basic and fundamental civil right of marriage under the guise of protecting families.” said Michael Diviesti, State coordinator for GetEQUAL TX. “Our families matter and they deserve the very same and equal protection as everyone else. To deny us the 1,138 protections, benefits and responsibilities that come automatically to married couples protects no family at all but harms the thousands of Texas families that happen to consist of two parents of the same-sex.”
“The time has come to press the issue of marriage equality. LGBTQ persons live and love like anyone else and deserve the benefits, both material and emotional, of the right to marry. And in denying equal marriage to LGBTQ citizens, our government sends a dehumanizing message that makes harassment, bullying, and violence against us seem okay.”, exclaimed Dana Cloud, a faculty member at the University of Texas and an active member of Queer Texas United.
“Every resident of this country deserves to be treated with the same amount of dignity, respect, and humanity as every human being. Marriage is a civil right not a heterosexual privilege”, said Tiffani Bishop, an active member of the LGBTQ community.
For a complete list of Valentine’s Day actions go to www.requestmarriage.com <http://www.requestmarriage.com/> .
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