Voting for equality, of course

I'm excited to vote tomorrow. There's a lot on the line in Maryland, including a referendum on same-sex marriage. It's a shame it's even an issue, but I'm glad to have a say.

My friend Nathan pointed out a story in The New York Times last week, about how more straight couples are incorporating support for same-sex marriage in their wedding ceremonies. It's great that that's happening, but I couldn't help rolling my eyes at the story because we did that very thing, oh, THREE years ago.

During our wedding planning, I searched online for something like a poem that would convey support for marriage equality. It turned out that lots of folks had used excerpts from the 2003 Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling that said same-sex couples have the right to marry. What's great about the excerpt we used (read by Nathan, as it happens) is that it's simply about marriage and its importance to society. And it's clear that the sex of each person shouldn't make a difference in that. Here is what we used:

Marriage is a vital social institution. The exclusive commitment of two individuals to each other nurtures love and mutual support; it brings stability to our society. For those who choose to marry, and for their children, marriage provides an abundance of legal [and] financial benefits. ...

Marriage also bestows enormous private and social advantages. [It] is at once a deeply personal commitment to another human being and a highly public celebration of the ideals of mutuality, companionship, intimacy, fidelity and family. ... Because it fulfills yearnings for security and connection that express our common humanity, ... marriage is an esteemed institution, and the decision whether and whom to marry is among life's momentous acts of self-definition.

The benefits accessible only by way of a marriage license are enormous, touching nearly every aspect of life and death. ... It is undoubtedly for these ... reasons, as well as for its intimately personal significance, that civil marriage has long been termed a "civil right." Without the right to marry, one is excluded from the full range of human experience.

May 23, 2009. Stevensville, Maryland.

TV TONIGHT

Normally we would have watched "How I Met Your Mother," but the DVR failed to record it. Instead we watched our latest Netflix DVD, "The Avengers." It was freaking awesome! And I'll leave it at that.