This adorable little boy at the Tuscaloosa celebration for the end of DOMA
Forgive me if I go a little off topic but I’m having an emotional hangover. Yesterday was a climactic day; it was a day in which the federal government recognized that legally married same sex couples deserve the same rights as opposite sex couples…..as long as you live in the right zip code. With the striking down of DOMA roughly 30% of the nation’s population is now able to achieve full equality under both state and federal law. While The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS for those of you who have never seen an Aaron Sorkin tv show) failed to rule on Proposition 8, it did uphold a lower court ruling striking down the ballot initiative, thereby re-validating hundreds of California marriages and restoring equality to the state.
It was a grand day, a historic day. When the decision came in Chris called me from work and we both cried a little (I cried a lot) as we thought about the possibilities this meant for us and millions of other couples who hope to enter a legal union during our lifetime. My country was willing to admit based upon the constitution that Chris and I, as well as millions like us, are equal under the law! Phone calls were made. Friends and family members sent text messages of support and love. Even my grandfather, who I have never formally come out to except to introduce my boyfriend to him, called me on the phone to say he could imagine me standing in front of the supreme court with signs. Coming from a 72 year old Sicilian man this brought me to tears, well more tears. I even joined fellow LGBTQ brethren in downtown Tuscaloosa at a rally in the government plaza and local gay bar to celebrate the historic achievement.
It was a joyous day and one worth celebrating. Then like a night of drinking too many sugary-hollow frozen daiquiris, this morning I found myself deeply and regrettably hung-over. 
I began to think of the millions of questions that arose out of yesterday’s rulings. Would Chris and I be able to get married in a state that recognizes our marriage and then file federal benefits even though we live in Alabama? What would happen if we moved to NY then later moved to Missouri? How would all of this upset our grand plans?
You see, Chris and I were planning a heist on our state government, but don’t tell anyone.[i] Like any good heist we’ve assembled the team for one last con, and this con would dupe none other than the great state of Alabama. The motivation for the heist was simple, the voters in Alabama voted in 2006 to deny marriage equality to same-sex couples. The amendment to the state constitution passed by an overwhelming 81%, and the majority of voters in Alabama thought they would never have to see a legal marriage in their great bastion of “conservative family values”. Thus our heist-scheme was born.We gathered the team for one last job: a loving couple, an ordained minister, witnesses, family members all to make things look legit. After our official ceremony in Alabama, the plan was to hold an additional wedding ceremony in one of the states that legally recognizes same sex couples. Then, with the recent defeat of the Defense of Marriage Act, we could return to Alabama file for federal marriage benefits and BAM the U.S. government would say there was a legal marriage in Alabama even if that would make us ineligible for state benefits.
As I did more research and asked more questions I was left with the general feeling that despite our elation for the millions of Americans residing in the “legal” states able to bask in the glory of full equality, we are pretty much screwed.
For example, currently the IRS determines your eligibility for federal benefits based upon the state in which you file, not where the marriage was “celebrated” so that’s off the table. Moreover different elements of the executive branch differ as to how the marriage is technically defined so it turns out our plans, and the options of millions like us aren’t as open as we once believed. Yes, yesterday’s rulings do establish a wonderful precedent for future cases. Certainly, yesterday’s rulings were a step in the right direction and we have to celebrate the milestones on the journey, but they are just steps.
Somehow I fooled myself into believing that yesterday changed everything, and in some respects it did. However when we are still determining rights based on where you live and whom you love we still have a long way to go. In the afterglow of my post DOMA death I begin to worry if the wider world believes that yesterday accomplished marriage equality? Will people begin to have fatigue about this cause in the way people are tired of hearing about the war in Iraq, racial equality and other issues we’ve supposedly moved on from.
Equality, like any form of social change, isn’t a given. It isn’t inevitable, it has to be demanded. Less than a month after I wrote about the power of staying we started thinking about future opportunities for us to move where we are wanted. That we have to consider this highlights a stark reality. In the post DOMA world there are no longer red states and blue states, but states where we exist and states that, governmentally, refuse to recognize us; as if we aren’t even here.
So what happens next? Certainly time and generational politics are on our side for marriage equality, but there is a whole host of LGBTQ issues that extend beyond marriage equality. Right now someone is being persecuted for being gay, someone can legally be fired for celebrating yesterday’s ruling, a transperson may be unable to vote because their state approved ID doesn’t match their preferred gender. People of color still have to face institutionalized forms of oppression out of misunderstanding and fear. There are so many miles to go, more legal challenges to file, more minds to reach. I have come to realize I have to do more. If you liked yesterday’s rulings, carry on the journey. If you called someone to congratulate them on their “victory” yesterday, let’s start a conversation on how we can make that victory with fewer empty calories and more people invited to partake in the meal.
As for our heist plans (see disclaimer below), well we might just have to consider following through with it and see what happens. Who knows I think we’re attractive enough to make decent plaintiffs in a lawsuit, even if it means I’d have to lose a few pounds.
Tales of the EnGAYged 