I was so taken aback by Olivia Offner’s article mainly because of the myriad of seemingly invalid points. Human rights are the foundation of this country. Since its establishment, the United States has been known as a free country granting liberties and justice to all. Marriage is the cornerstone of the family, and traditionally, love is the cornerstone of marriage.

In a society so devoid of love and true emotion it seems that the concept that “love is not enough” is the primary cause for the ideals we now hold true. The idea that marriage should simply be an institution designed under an umbrella of exclusivity and compatibility is not its purpose.

Love is said to be the one thing that combats the 50 percent divorce rate in America. Love is the one aspect of life that is played up again and again on TV, in magazines, and just about any other source of entertainment in our current world. Numerous songs have been written based on the healing power and the lasting power of love. This constant reference to love is because of the undying faith and belief that all people have or will find love. The idea that marriage is strictly an institution is exactly the backwards thinking that accounts for the previously mentioned divorce rate in this country. It has become something that can be entered into and out of with such ease that it’s sanctity has already been restructured.

Outside of the casual nature of this right and privilege is the fact that marriage, and the times, have changed. Today, women are no longer seen as property and interracial marriage is now legal. The fact that marriage is simply an institution and love has been discounted begs the question: What about marriage then makes it sacred? The fact is that marriage is a human right, an idea that is explicitly recognized by the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights. According to the Declaration, “Men and women at full age, without any limitation…have the right to marry and to found a family.”

The core values that Miss Offner uses as the purpose of marriage, such as guarding against sin, controlling human nature etc., are true in the Biblical sense. In that sense, the institution of marriage was indeed founded without love. However, since that point in history, humanity has evolved and changed and redefined this right. The love between two people is untouchable, and it is offensive to compare marriage and love between two people to that which is between an animal and a person.

To compare the love that two people share with bestiality is an insult to our community, the LBGT community. Same sex marriage is about love just like any other marriage is and should be because love is more than enough. Love has shaped the world that we live in. Love of humanity has been promoted, demanded and given in the hardest of times throughout history. Love is what creates the family, as seen in the experiences of people like myself who come from a single parent family.

For me, my mother and my friends are my family. Love is essential to marriage regardless of the two being bonded by it whether man and woman, man and man, or woman and woman. There is beauty in commitment and dedication promised by two individuals regardless of happenings; that is love and that is marriage.