The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

    Same-sex marriage legal across the United States

    With a historic civil rights decision made, gay marriage is now legal for the American people.

    On June 26, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 favor supporting gay marriage, marking that the U.S. constitution allows same-sex couples to marry in all 50 states.

    According to Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy in the Obergefell v. Hodges majority opinion, “No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than they once were…They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right. The judgement of the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit is reversed. It is so ordered.”

    When the decision was first noticed by some students of Southeastern, they were unable to hide their joy from the people around them.

    “I was at work and I teach a summer camp with one other gay person and we just happened to be paired up,” said senior early childhood education major Allie Pigrenet. “He literally took out his phone to check the time and his phone had just blown up, everything had just gone off. He checks it, drops his phone and just picks me up. I was like ‘what, what?’ He was like, ‘gay marriage is legal.’ We immediately started crying and hugging each other and the kids were like, ‘What are you doing?’ They are seven and eight years old and have no idea what is going on.”

    The excitement was immediately felt by others, such as Pigrenet’s girlfriend, sociology graduate student Jennifer Rees who was woken up when she received a phone call.

    “I am passed out at home, comfily sleeping in my bed, not a care in the world,” said Rees. “I wake up because I hear my phone buzzing, and I have five missed calls from her [Pigrenet]. I’m immediately [thinking] car accident, someone died, something bad happened so I find my glasses and call her back and I don’t even get a word out and it’s just screaming of, ‘Gay marriage is legal. We could get married. I’m not sorry that I woke you up. I love you. Bye.’ And she hangs up.”

    Though gay marriage has been made legal by the Supreme Court, steps are still needed to be taken by U.S. territories to ensure that correct, lawful procedures are followed.

    At this current moment, U.S. territories are complying with allowing same-sex marriage with exception of American Samoa who is currently trying to hold out against the recent Supreme Court’s decision legalizing gay marriage and has given no update as of Thursday, July 9, according to the island’s Office of Vital Statistics.

    Along with American Samoa trying to go against the Supreme Court’s decision, some in Louisiana are against gay marriage and have tried to fight the decision.

    One example is Governor Bobby Jindal who tried to argue that in 2010, Louisiana adopted a Religious Freedom Restoration Act. This act prohibited government from unduly burdening a person’s exercise of religion. Jindal hoped to fight the Supreme Court’s decision by passing a Marriage and Conscience Act that “would prohibit the state from denying a person, company or nonprofit group a license, accreditation, employment or contract-or taking other ‘adverse action’-based on the person or entity’s religious views on the institution of marriage.”

    Some believe the main reasons behind people who oppose the law of gay marriage may be because of their personal, religious beliefs. But, they also believe that part of the government’s job is to follow the law even if they do not agree with it.

    “A lot of opposition in government positions is based on religious beliefs, religious belief structures that should be a personal religious belief structure,” said Rees. “When you embody a government office, you are responsible for a group of people, not yourself. You can have your personal beliefs, but keep them in your home.”

    Others hold a firm belief that people should let other people love whoever they are meant to love.

    “If it doesn’t affect you personally, then it shouldn’t really matter what other people do because of whether someone loves someone of the same gender,” said junior math education major Kayleigh Gregoire. “If it is not affecting you, you’re not involved in it. Be fair to other people’s business.”

    Also, other students believe that sometimes change is hard for those who are stuck in the ways of the past and believe recognizing change will be the first step in creating a positive environment for all.

    “I will never understand why someone marrying to someone else bothers, or has anything to do with, anyone else,” said junior communication major Neil Bourgeois. “It shouldn’t bother anyone else. I think the people opposing it are ignorant, and they are stuck in their ways. They just need to get used to change because the world is changing every day. I think it [the future] is going to be very bright. I think it is going to be good, everyone will be more comfortable. They will be more comfortable with who they are.

    Bourgeois admitted that he lost a friendship due to the Supreme Court’s decision but is hopeful for the university’s overall reaction at finding a way to respect one another’s beliefs.

    “As far as on campus, everything will be fairer,” said Bourgeois. “I think this is a step of equality for everybody, in all areas, not just marriage. I think it pushed everyone, including Southeastern to a better state, a better campus. Almost everyone I have come across has been very happy for us. I have had some people oppose it and I have already lost a friendship but it happens. To the people that oppose it, I don’t let it bother me. We don’t all have to agree on everything, we just have to respect each other. You don’t have to believe what I believe, just don’t down it.”

    Though certain political officials have fought the decision of gay marriage, some are in favor of the actions that took place in the nation such as the remarks made at the White House by President Barack Obama who said, “It is the consequence of the countless small acts of courage that millions of people across decades, who stood up, who came out.”

    Though Pigrenet and Rees have the opportunity to now get married, they do not plan to jump on the gay marriage bandwagon.

    “We have been together for over two years,” said Rees. “I know people that have been together for three months and got married and have been together for ten years. Time is a construct that we give ourselves to guide but emotion isn’t controlled by time. We still have a lot of work to do, not to say that there is anything wrong with our relationship. But, we need to grow more together.”

    Also, Pigrenet and Rees hope that people realize that their relationship is just like any other relationship and those who get married, same-sex or opposite, will have the chance to experience a normal marriage.

    “We are not idiotic, we are not going to get married right away,” said Pigrenet. “We are not ready. People who choose to get married have been together for six, eight, ten years. We are just like any other couple. We may know each other better because we are the same sex, but other than that we are like everyone else. We fight like everyone else, we walk like everyone else and we go to the store like everyone else. We are not any different. It’s no longer gay marriage, it’s just marriage.”

    A same-sex couple from Hammond was the first to receive a marriage license in Tangipahoa Parish the Thursday after the Supreme Court’s decision by Tangipahoa Parish Clerk of Court Julian Dufreche to Allan Thomas and Timmy Lenoir of Hammond.

    Those wishing to get married in Tangipahoa Parish must receive a marriage licenses through the Marriage Department. To see how to receive a marriage license, visit tangiclerk.org.

     

    same-sex marriage

    People gather in Lafayette Park to witness the White House being lit up in rainbow colors in commemoration of the Supreme Court’s ruling to legalize same-sex marriage Friday, June 26, 2015, in Washington. Gay and lesbian couples in Washington and across the nation are celebrating the ruling, which will put an end to same-sex marriage bans in the 14 states that still maintain them.
    Associated Press/Pablo Martinez Monsivais

     

     

     

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