Utah has become California as it was before the Supreme Court allowed lower court rulings that Prop 8 was unconstitutional to stand. Now Utah has three classes of citizens, Lesbian and Gay folks who are legally married in Utah, Lesbian and Gay people who cannot get married in Utah and the other citizens of Utah who can legally marry someone of the opposite sex.
Those gay and lesbian residents of Utah who were poised to get married the minute the opportunity was available, are married. Those who might have seen the dream of proposing and planning the wedding of their dreams, inviting family and friends to celebrate their joy have had the rug pulled.
It's a Jim Crow like position we find ourselves in as Gay Americans in 2014. We live in and travel to and through states where our marriages might or might not be recognized.
This decision, while disappointing, is not surprising. The Supreme Court's decision on Prop 8 was not based on the merits, but of the standing of those that appealed. The State of California refused to appeal the overturn of Prop 8 recognizing that it was unconstitutional. The State of Utah is appealing.
This may be the case in which the idea that people can deny marriage as a right is decided. Let us hope and pray that the Court will act boldly to to be on the correct side of history. If one were to ask me I would say I am an American before I would say a New Yorker. Marriage equality must be an American right.
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