chloe and erin's lesbian wedding
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* No same-sex couple in this country can access any of the 1,138 federal rights provided to married couples. The rights provided by each individual state vary – depending both on the state and on whether or not there is any legal recognition of same-sex couples in that state that may provide some of those rights. Please remember that the states that do provide some recognition only do so within the boundaries of that individual state. My Domestic Partner rights and benefits here in California disappear as soon as I cross the state line on a trip. The same is true of the right to marriage in other countries – If my wife and I travel to Canada or Spain and legally wed there, that marriage is not recognized by the government here in the United States. for more information, visit: |
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| marriage equality usa |
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| national center for lesbian rights |
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Best CNN/YouTube Debate
Answer "Mary and Jen, the answer to your question is yes.
And let me tell you why. Because if our Constitution really means
what it says, that all are created equal, if it really means what
it says, that there should be equality of opportunity before the
law, then our brothers and sisters who happen to be gay, lesbian,
bisexual, or transgender should have the same rights accorded to
them as anyone else, and that includes the ability to have a civil
marriage ceremony."
-- Dennis Kucinich, in response to a question from a lesbian couple
during the CNN/YouTube debates
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On Saturday, September 23rd, 2000, we took each other to be wedded partners, to share our joys and our sorrows, to make a home together, to comfort each other, to inspire each other, to create with each other.
We know that there are those who would seek to forbid this celebration. We know that there are people who do not have enough faith in the power of love to believe that our love is real, and is sacred.
No law or government is needed to honor this relationship, but we struggle with the denial of equal rights in this nation. It is because of the courage of the great state of Vermont to lead in the political recognition of our right to equal civil benefits that we spent our entire wedding budget there in Springfield, Vermont on September 23, 2000. Our hope and dream is that someday soon all the states in our nation will come to recognize and honor this relationship and all loving, committed bonds.*
Love alone is capable of uniting living beings in such a way as to complete and fulfill us, for love joins us by what is deepest in ourselves. The courage to be vulnerable, to be seen as we are, with each willing to accept the other in this way is a crucial quality to the well-being and long life of our union.
We went to Vermont in September 2000 in the presence of our family and friends to state our commitment to a shared life together. In their presence, we promised that our companionship of mind and heart, shall continue to be at the center of our lives through all our years to come. On September 23, 2000, we chose to affirm our love through ritual and vow and to promise to be faithful to this love for the rest of our lives.
(Chloe spoke to Erin)
Erin, I love you, not for what you are, but what I am, when I am with you. I love you not only for what you have made yourself, but what you are making of me. I love you for the part of me that you bring out.
I love you for seeing all that is special in me that no one else has looked quite far enough to find.
I found in you a companion to share all my life experiences with, to travel with, to share all my sunsets, all my challenges and joys. You fill my loneliness and warm my solitude. You are exactly what I have always looked for in another: loving and committed. You balance me and help me feel complete. I look forward to sharing my life with you and sharing your life as well. You are my chosen family.
(Erin spoke to Chloe)
When I was younger I thought I'd search the earth for my home, a place. But now I have found my home, the place I feel most wonderful, most real, most right and it is by your side. My home is with you, Chloe. I love sharing our lives and making a home which is a place of celebration and joy. Who you are inspires and challenges me. You stimulate me more than anyone in this world; and you encourage me to stretch and redefine myself on a daily basis. Chloe, you have taught me to dream, to believe in living in the ways that make me happiest, to follow what I want to do in my work and to trust in life and the future. I want to spend my life with you.
(Erin and chloe vowed to each other)
I vow to love you with all of my heart in every moment, with each experience that unfolds in life. To fully cherish you, and my time with you, in all that we share together and separately. I promise to bring honesty to our love, to offer full trust and support for all that we journey through together. To nourish your soul with the reassurance that I am here for you always. I promise to remain open to all that may change because life always does and to remember that it is because life changes that we continue to grow and become newly challenged. With the challenges, I will walk forward with an open heart and open mind, happy to be beside you for the beginnings that lie ahead.