Indiana Better Recognize

Indiana will be dragged into the 21st Century if it kills them.

This burgeoning backwards state is one of a whopping 29 states with an all-out ban on same sex marriage, but according to USA Today (link below), a judge ruled Thursday that they must recognize at least one union.

Amy Sandler (r) and Niki Quasney (l), both 37, were married in Massachusetts last year, one of the 17 states that allow same sex marriage. While this is cause for celebration, it comes with a bittersweet tinge.

Quasney has terminal ovarian cancer. The Munster, Ind., couple, who have two young daughters, had argued that lack of recognition for their marriage would endanger Sandler's ability to collect Social Security and other death benefits. Quasney has Stage 4 ovarian cancer and has undergone numerous surgeries and chemotherapy, and the couple said they had "an urgent need to have their marriage recognized," according to court records.

While several couples have filed suits to have their out of state marriages recognized, they are the first and, to date, only couple to win this right they fought so hard to have recognized.

The larger issue — whether Indiana will be ordered to allow same-sex couples to marry here or whether the state will have to grant recognition of gay marriages performed in other states where they are legal — has yet to be resolved. When Sandler and Quasney's lawyers asked for recognition of their marriage Friday, both sides also asked (U.S. District Judge Richard) Young to decide the entire case without having it go to a full trial. Young has yet to make a decision on those requests and wasn't required to make one today.

As for the state of Indiana's flimsy reasoning for trying to prevent this couple from sharing the rights their marriage grants them, it's, well, flimsy...

In a statement released Wednesday, officials expressed sympathy for Sandler and Quasney but said the state's position had not changed. "The motion should not have been granted since the current rule of law does not allow for a hardship exception from the statute for one person or two people, as that would create inconsistency for all other citizens of Indiana," according to the statement.

Yeah, we get it Indiana, you don't want to have to explain to your kids why these two women love each other. It's tough being a parent, man, I know. So many things to explain like where do babies come from, and why are those two men are kissing, and what's for lunch. I will respectfully yield to Louis C.K. for his brilliant deconstruction of this...

Keeping things in perspective is also crucial here, and for someone with so much on the line, Quasney was able to do so elegantly.

"We are so relieved," Quasney said in a statement from Lambda Legal, the gay rights group that is representing her and Sandler in court. "We are so thankful that we can move forward and concentrate on being with each other. Our time together and with our daughters is the most important thing in the world to me."

Best of luck to all those fighting these backwards government institutions.

Via USA Today