Just Married! (just kidding!)
After only 72 days of marriage, Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries are getting divorced. Britney Spears' marriage to Jason Alexander (not the one from Seinfeld) ended after just 55 hours.
( Don't even get me started on older folks who "should" know better...Larry King, Liza Minelli, etc. etc.)
To many people, this is just soap opera, tabloid fodder.
To many LGBTQ people, it's insulting, preposterous and it pisses us off. It's yet another way we struggle to live happy, healthy lives---when magazine covers make fun of something we always see as a dangling carrot--just out of arm's reach.
As a child of divorced parents, I'm not against ending things if it isn't working out. What I struggle with is this truth: LGBTQ people don't even get the option.
It feels really unfair (I know, who said life is fair?) that straight people like these folks above can play around with "the sacred institution of marriage" like a light switch. It's on! It's off! On again! Off again!
With the exception of 7 states and D.C., LGBTQ folks who have been in committed partnerships for 5, 10, 15 and 40+ years aren't given the opportunity to marry based solely on their sexual orientation.
You can read more details of what states do and don't provide same-sex couples by checking out the National Conference of State Legislature's website right here.
Here are a couple things (among a long list) you want to ponder:
1) "gay marriage" is an important issue to resolve for the health and happiness of LGBTQ folks living in America.
2) "gay marriage", while important, is one of many important issues that LGBTQ want to see changed or improved in America. Know that many folks are also equally concerned with employment non-discrimination (many trans people face profound discrimination finding and securing employment--current stats are 70% below the poverty level*) and other issues outlined here: Findings of the NATIONAL TRANSGENDER DISCRIMINATION SURVEY by the National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force