Marriage is NOT Matrimony.

Let me start by saying that I am 100% for "Gay Marriage."  I like to think of it as just marriage for everyone, which is why I have it in quotes.  I consider myself to be a good Catholic girl.  I teach CCD, attend mass every Sunday, and I try to live the way Jesus said.  I accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior, and I love God and all of his creations, which is why I believe that every person should have the right to love who they want, marry who they love and be able to have the same rights as everyone else.

Now, I say I am 100% for marriage.  To the people out there scared that this is going to force the churches of any denomination to allow "Gay Marriage," wake up and smell the coffee people.  Do you really not know anything about the way your church is run?  When you get married in a church, you receive the SACRAMENT of MATRIMONY.  Marriage is not a sacrament.  Matrimony is.  I am not sure about other churches, but in the Catholic Church, they do NOT recognize ANY couple, gay, straight, or purple with pink polka dots that have not been performed by a Catholic official, and most times, they do not recognize the marriage as "authentic" unless it has taken place in the Catholic Church.  They do not recognize divorce either, which is another point that I will get to in a moment, unless you pay a boatload of money to the Vatican for an annulment.  Then, it's all good.  They look the other way.  If these people are all in a tizzy about 2 men or 2 women getting married without the sacrament, why aren't they all worked up over a man and a woman going through the same process?  It's the same deal.  The Church does not recognize the marriage as bound by God.

Another point that I want to make.  Divorce.  Yeah, the dreaded D-word.  So, the Church doesn't make a big fuss about people getting divorced, in fact, as I mentioned before, you can pay a boatload of money and they will turn the other way and say, "Previous marriage?  What previous marriage?"  I've seen it happen first hand, in multiple cases.  It makes me shake my head in frustration.  To me, it is beyond hypocritical.

Another argument, "Gay Marriage" ruins the sanctity of marriage, huh?  Yeah, I don't think so.  You know what ruins the "sanctity of marriage?"  These celebrities who go out and get married, then divorced after a day or 72 days.  Yes, I'm looking at you, Ms. Spears and a certain Kardashian.  You know what else ruins the "sanctity of marriage?"  Abusing the right to use it.  Yes, I'm looking at you, Elizabeth Taylor (R.I.P.) and your 8 (yes, count 'em, 8) husbands.  But, that's ok because it was a woman who married 8 different men, right?  If not, why aren't people swarming Washington D.C. protesting divorce?  I know many same sex couples who are very loving, devoted couples, some of them even more so than some of the different sex couples that I know.  How is that ruining the sanctity of marriage?  I would rather 2 men or 2 women live happily in the bliss of their marriage than a man and a woman go at each other's throats every night, or cheat on their spouse.

Oh, yes, that's my next point.  The cheating.  Talk about ruining the sanctity of marriage.  When you say those vows, you promise to love, honor and cherish each other until you die...or get divorced/an annulment.  You also promise to forsake all others.  That means NO NOOKY WITH ANYONE OTHER THAN YOUR SPOUSE.  Again, I have seen married men and women cheat on their spouses more times than I can count, and yet, you have a same sex couple who would love to enjoy the sanctity of marriage and can't.

Now, I am not saying that all same sex couples are lovey dovey, sunshine and rainbows all of the time.  I know that there are just as many gay couples as there are straight couples out there that do the above things. I'm not blind, I'm not stupid.  There are people out there of all sexual orientation who are good, loving people, and there are people out there of all sexual orientation who are not so good and loving.  The thing is, they are not all equal.  And why?  Because of who they love?  Because of who they wish to spend the rest of their lives with?

We are all human.  We all make mistakes.  But love...love can never be a mistake.  Jesus himself said that love is the greatest commandment of all (the first being to love the Lord your God with all of your heart, the second greatest to love thy neighbor as yourself.)  He, the Lord and Savior himself, never spoke against homosexuality.  Never.  He only spoke of love, and faith and the good things in life.  He spoke of never judging others.   If those opposed to "Gay Marriage" are so quick to quote Bible verses, why do they never quote those?  They can't quote anything specific that Jesus said because he never said anything about it.

The Supreme Court is ruling on whether or not same-sex couples can share benefits, social security, get married and over 1,000 other rights that straight couples enjoy and don't think twice about.  This is not just about marriage.  It's about human rights.  It's about love, and like I said before, love can never be wrong.