There is a story on CNN right now, with some analysis of gay marriage in Massachusetts, 4 years after it became legal.
Today the focus was on California of course, and the changes and new marriages going forward, but today also provided a good opportunity to look at how things have been going during the last few years. There was a similar story in the NYTimes also, with lots of interviews with different couples.
But the CNN story affected me more. I'm a straight person, and unmarried, but there is something so purely wonderful about reading things that show that progress does happen, and people can change. The article mentions that there have been repeated attempts to ban same-sex marriage since it was legalized.
Massachusetts State Rep. Paul Loscocco, a Republican, was one of several dozen lawmakers who changed their minds on the vote [in 2007], deciding to vote against a ban. The change, he says, is reflective of society at large.
"I can't tell you how many calls I got from people saying, 'I called you before and now my grandson is gay -- now they're a couple -- now I've changed my mind and I want you to vote the other way,' " says Loscocco.
But one simple comment was the one that genuinely brought tears to my eyes with emotion about this issue. They quoted one member of a same-sex couple, who was recently able to request hospital visitation for his spouse in Rhode Island when he had to have emergency surgery:
"I said, 'Well my husband will be coming,' and you know they didn't even blink. They just smiled and they knew I was from Massachusetts and didn't say anything."
I know that there are still lots of issues and problems in this world, and I know that we still have a long way to go, and that there are still lots of people who think gay marriage is "abomination" etc. BUT. It does mean something, that things can change, that progress does happen. We can do better, and we can get there.