Earlier this month, dozens of married couples gathered in Central Park to protest the votes against same sex marriage in the New York and New Jersey legislatures.
The couples were showing their support for the gay community with their pledge of “UnMarriage” until same sex couples were offered the option of marriage.
Their protest idea is creative, catchy and necessary if they hope to grab attention and eventually votes for same sex marriage.
Providing equal rights for same sex marriages is not going to happen without some support from their heterosexual supporters. The ongoing trial to overturn California’s Proposition 8 shows us how staunch the opponents of same sex marriage can be in their pursuit to protect their idea of marriage.
The gay community must be equally steadfast in their struggle for civil rights.
The event was meant to mimic regular weddings with guests dressed in formal attire while flowers adorned the heads of the married couples. After the 250 participants made their vow to fight for equal rights the Rev. Billy Talen from the Church of Life After Shopping, who presided over the mass ritual and lead his choir in a chant-like song.
The gospel choir sang “Sexual fear stops here! Freedom to love starts here!” The ritual of New York married couples was interesting and attracted a tremendous amount of media attention with articles in the New York Daily News, Village Voice and USA Today.
Rev. Talen and the Church of Life After Shopping usually focus on anti-consumerism endeavors.
But, we are not sure how effective Rev. Talen will be with his outdoor, massive weddings that declare “UnMarriage.” The people at the ceremony obviously agree that denying gay couples the rights that heterosexual couples enjoy is a civil rights issue, but we are unsure if they convinced any outsiders.
It is hard to say that many new advocates were gained from the marriage in Central Park on Valentine’s Day. You could easily label the entire event a publicity stunt.
Regardless of the label attached to the project, it was inspiring to see enthusiasm from supporters of same sex marriage.
We hope to see more action raising support for gay couples in our community. UCF has a high number of married students for a college. It would be great to see a similar event of “UnMarriage” on campus.
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