Ohio could become the 10th state to legalize same-sex marriage, if a push to get a measure on the November 2013 ballot is successful.
For that to happen, the Ohio Freedom to Marry Coalition must gather enough signatures and then, of course, voters would have to support the change in Ohio law from allowing marriage between a man and a woman to simply allowing marriage between two consenting adults.
We're proud that Ohioans are taking this on and hope it is successful.
Not allowing gay couples to marry is a violation of civil rights, period. Religion shouldn't play a part in this argument and neither should politics or personal views on what or may not be "moral."
American citizens are all entitled to the same rights and it's discouraging and infuriating that in 2012, that's still not the case.
More than 1,000 legal and financial benefits come along with marriage that people aren't entitled to if a partnership isn't legally recognized. Those benefits are not the same under a civil union, either.
And along with the rights that go hand-in-hand with marriage, same-sex couples deserve to be able to be recognized as family and to experience the bonds and security that often accompany the institution of marriage. Allowing loving couples to unite and to create families together is only a plus for communities and society as a whole.
It's likely that in a few generations, men not being able to marry men and women not being able to marry women will be only a painful memory, like segregation between black and white citizens and the one-time law against interracial marriage.
We look forward to the day when all U.S. citizens have the same rights and when it is deemed socially unacceptable for those trying to shame or persecute these couples to do so.
