Happy Monday!

One of my friends sent me an article posted in Friday’s New York Times, discussing why some same-sex couples choose not the get married, despite now having the right.

The article offers a fresh perspective not often heard in the current push for marriage equality. It cites a Pew Research poll that shows “60 percent of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender adults are married or said they wanted to marry, compared with 76 percent of the general public.”  

The Arguments:

Some of the reasons given against marrying include:

–       Marriage is an outdated institution that forces same-sex couples into the mainstream

–       Marriage just leads to divorce

–       It’s against their beliefs, religious or otherwise

–       Marriage imposes financial burdens and legal entitlements

Of course, that last reason made me smile. That section mentions the marriage penalty, access to health care, and parental rights. One woman claims that she doesn’t see any tangible financial benefits in marrying.

I started this blog, in part, to explore the financial positives and negatives of getting married. And as we’ve seen already, you can find valid evidence for and against either side.

I love hearing the different arguments. It goes to show that we, as humans, have diverse attitudes and beliefs and shouldn’t feel pigeonholed into having one set of views.

We still need marriage equality:

Keep in mind this article doesn’t argue against marriage equality. I think we can all agree, these interviewees included, that everyone should have the right to marry. The essential function of that right, however, is being able to choose whether you want to.