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In 1969, Reverend Troy Perry performed the first public same sex holy union in the United States. So, from our inception, MCC has advocated for the rights for same-sex couples to legally marry.
In 2004, I came to MCC QC for the first time to perform "I do ceremonies," which were publicized in order to call attention to the need for marriage equality. In Scott County, Iowa and in Rock Island County, Illinois, as in other communities across the country, MCC members applied for marriage licenses many times over the years, only to be turned down.
In 2008, Iowa became the third state in the United States to grant marriage equality, and I made sure MCC QC was a signer on the amicus curea (friend of the court) brief from religious organizations. I was proud to be second in line in Scott County to receive a marriage certificate as soon as they were permitted.
When my husband had an aneurysm ten months later, there were no legal questions about my making decisions about his health care, and there were no legal impediments to my being in charge of his assets when he died. These kind of stories play out again and again for MCC members and friends who choose to be legally married.
For most members of the LGBTQ+ community, there is little need to explain about the legal and financial advantages that marriage equality affords. But the issue is actuallly much, much greater than just "marriage." It is about extending basic human rights to the queer community.
If they take away marriage equality, then they take away our dignity. There is nothing to stop them from stripping us of all human rights. We become forever "other" - which translates as "less than."
I thank God that the Supreme Court declined to take up Kim Davis' bogus lawsuit, which she has repeatedly lost in the lower courts.But we know this is not the end of our fight. We must be vigilant in asserting and protecting our hard-fought right to marriage equality, and to full equality of all rights for LGBTQ+ people world wide.
We will not go back into the closet.
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