Republicans are going after marriage. LGBTQ+ people like me tried to warn you. | Opinion
I want to be able to get married and buy a home with someone. I want to be able to hold their hand in the hospital. I want the choice Idaho Republicans are trying to take from me and my community.
The reality LGBTQ+ people feared is here. We tried to tell you.
This isn't hyperbole. This is Republican legislation.
On Monday, the Idaho House of Representatives asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the landmark 2015 case that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. If the Supreme Court takes up the challenge and rules in favor of the Idaho House, it could mean the end of gay marriage in the United States.
It’s a move that is intended to send a message on behalf of the GOP that LGBTQ+ equality will no longer be tolerated. The Republicans want us to live in fear that they will take our rights away.
Republicans don't want me to marry or have equal rights
I was not someone who dreamed about their wedding growing up. I didn’t realize why until a few years ago, when I confronted my own sexuality.
Once I admitted to myself that I'm gay, the idea of marriage blossomed in my mind. I made a Pinterest board for wedding ideas and filled it with images of heart-shaped cakes, personalized matchbooks and brides wearing coordinating white outfits. I started dreaming about what my future could look like, were I to meet the right person.
There’s a chance I won’t be able to get married in North Carolina, my home state, if Obergefell falls. In 2012, the state added a constitutional amendment that “marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized.”
North Carolina is one of 35 states with laws against same-sex marriage on the books, laws that will go back into effect if the Supreme Court rules to send it back to the states.
Many Republicans have made it clear that they don’t care about my dreams or the dreams of any LGBTQ+ person. They certainly don’t want us to have the legal rights that come with marriage: paying taxes together, buying property together, having insurance together and benefitting from all the other things straight people take for granted.
Republican lawmakers are targeting Americans. Is Obergefell v. Hodges at risk?
None of this is surprising. The real Republican agenda, the one that aims to restrict everyone who isn’t a straight white man, has been creeping toward this for years.
The Supreme Court sent abortion back to the states in 2022, leaving 1 in 3 women to suffer under abortion bans implemented by conservative state legislatures. Republicans in state and federal governments continue to go after our health care, challenging things like in vitro fertilization, contraception and medicinal abortion drugs like mifepristone.
The GOP’s desire to control LGBTQ+ people is evident in repeated Republican attacks on trans rights: their right to play sports, to access gender-affirming care and to have government documents that accurately reflect who they are.
State-level battles have been playing out for years. Donald Trump made it a huge part of his presidential platform; now we’re seeing a slew of federal-level restrictions on trans people.
Republicans are emboldened by Trump to put that agenda of control into action. This is all happening less than a month into his second presidency. I fear what comes next.
Trump's first weeks were all about removing our rights
I want to be able to get married and buy a home with someone. I want to be able to hold their hand in the hospital. I want the choice Idaho Republicans are trying to take from me and my community.
Since Jan. 20, we have learned just how swiftly Republicans will work to take away our rights in the next four years. We know they are doing it because it scares people into submission.
Every Democrat needs to pay attention to what is going on. There are people you know – people you may care about – who suffer because of what the government is trying to take away from us. Now isn’t the time to give up; it’s the time to take a stand.
Follow Paste BN columnist Sara Pequeño on X, formerly Twitter: @sara__pequeno