Kim Kardashian’s “fairytale wedding” received a two-part E! special, 4 million viewers, the attention of every major form of gossip media, and three free Vera Wang gowns. How long did this apparently blissful marriage last? A whole 72 days.
Conservatives have argued for years that it’s homosexual relationships that have been ruining the sanctity of the institution of marriage, but in their minds this 72-day (1728 hour) disgrace of a marriage doesn’t make a mockery of the institution along with the Defense of Marriage Act itself.
Perez Hilton tweeted, “I love @KimKardashian, but as a gay man in America who is treated as a second class citizen when it comes to civil marriage, I am offended!…Straight people do a damn well good job themselves of ruining the sanctity of marriage!”
As soon as I scrambled through and finally escaped all of the headlining articles about Kimmy K’s divorce, I stumbled upon a collection of photos of homosexuals that have been faithfully devoted to each other for decades yet they don’t even receive the option of going down to City Hall and getting a marriage license signed, who can only call each other “lovers” or “partners” in order to be politically correct.
When I first open up to people and tell them that I have a lesbian grandma, I hear laughs and immature remarks, not to my surprise whatsoever. Boys ask if I’ve seen her and other women make out, and girls ask how she “became” this way. Mouths drop and faces go white when I tell them that she has been happily devoted to the same woman for 20 years, yet they still can’t show their true love for each other in the highest way.
Aside from just the basic right aspects, gay and lesbian couples don’t get the right to many marriage benefits. Couples who have been together for years don’t even get the right to receive government pensions, social security benefits, and minimized taxes after the death of their partner. I find it disgusting that the government can sit and watch someone who was lovingly committed to another person being buried with costs and unable to receive benefits just because they don’t agree with their choice of orientation.
“During the AIDs crisis, due to no marriage rights gay men who were often sick with the disease themselves, would first lose their loved ones from AIDs, then be barred from the funeral, kicked out from the apartment, and prevented from inheriting anything. There was no legal recourse for them,” said Chris Fray, an openly gay Chinese teacher.
The bottom line is that America is known as a progressive country that is open to all religions, ethnicities and that attitude should be extended to sexual orientation. It is tolerant to my grandma’s Jewish background, Eastern-European heritage, but not the person she chooses to love.
Kim’s 72-day matrimony should serve to show that all sectors of relationships (gay, lesbian, and straight) have their loving, strong relationships and now in Kim’s case, the failed relationships. Nevertheless, each type deserves the chance and their civil right to wed.
