{"id":2360,"date":"2014-11-11T10:01:54","date_gmt":"2014-11-11T17:01:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/carynriswold\/?p=2360"},"modified":"2014-11-11T10:01:54","modified_gmt":"2014-11-11T17:01:54","slug":"when-two-people-love-each-other-what-right-do-i-have","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/carynriswold\/2014\/11\/when-two-people-love-each-other-what-right-do-i-have\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cWhen Two People Love Each Other, What Right Do I Have…?\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>


\n\"idaho\"<\/a>Marriage equality has come to Idaho. \u00a0Idaho!<\/p>\n

Of course the big news is the fact that gay and lesbian Americans now have the right to marry in 32 states, a majority for the first time in U.S. history.<\/p>\n

But I have a small story to share about one place, one courthouse.<\/p>\n

My husband grew up in American Falls, Idaho, which is in Power County<\/a> in the southeastern part of the state.\u00a0 The population of the town is about 4,000, and the entire county is less than 8,000 people.\u00a0 It\u2019s a rural potato farming culture, with the Snake River running through it and a growing population of Hispanic workers.\u00a0 The first time I visited, twenty-one years ago, Mark took me to see the American Falls reservoir and the dam creating it which was built in 1927.\u00a0 He still loves to point to the grain elevator that pokes out of the reservoir, reminiscent of the old town of American Falls that was intentionally flooded and moved to higher ground with the construction of the dam.\u00a0 The level of the reservoir changes dramatically every year, given the demand for irrigation of local farms.\u00a0 And while the name of the county originally was inspired by the electricity generated by the dam, it now inspires the expansion of wind farms with dozens and dozens of spinning turbines lining the rolling foothills along Interstate 84.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also a conservative place that was part of Mormon pioneer settlements in the 19th<\/sup> century, where the LDS population is growing every year.\u00a0 It\u2019s really one of the last places you\u2019d expect to see marriage equality become reality.\u00a0 Indeed the governor and others worked hard to prevent it from happening, challenging legal decisions, getting stays and delays until this fall<\/a>:<\/p>\n

The 9th Circuit ruling was issued on October 7, affirming the freedom to marry for same-sex couples. The ruling was an affirmation of a May 13 federal ruling in\u00a0Latta v. Otter<\/em>, which struck down the state\u2019s anti-marriage constitutional amendment.<\/strong>\u00a0The lawsuit argued that laws in Idaho that restrict marriage to different-sex couples and refuse to respect legal marriages of same-sex couples who married in other states violate the United States Constitution\u2019s commitment to equal protection and due process.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And so gay marriage comes to Idaho.\u00a0 My mother-in-law is the County Deputy Clerk in Power County, and she recently issued the first same-sex marriage license in the county\u2019s history.\u00a0 I asked her a few questions, starting with what it was like for her and her coworkers to be part of that moment:<\/p>\n

We were all excited<\/strong> to finally be able to issue a same sex marriage license to two women.\u00a0 We happened to know one of them, so we were all congratulating both of them<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

How had your office made preparations for the changes in state marriage laws?\"photo<\/p>\n

We made preparations by having our computer techs change the marriage license affidavit to accommodate same sex marriages.<\/strong>\u00a0 They could just choose applicant, or 2 brides or 2 grooms, or bride and groom.\u00a0 The State of Idaho Vital Statistics accepts these marriage licenses now.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

How did delays or stays on various legal decisions affect what your office was or wasn\u2019t able to do?<\/p>\n

We had to answer phone calls and say that we couldn\u2019t issue same sex marriage licenses after all, because of the court stays.\u00a0 We felt bad.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You\u2019ve worked in the county courthouse for a long time \u2026 did you ever imagine that a change like this, to open up marriage to all of the residents of Idaho regardless of gender, would be something that you\u2019d be a part of?<\/p>\n

I have worked for the County 24 years.\u00a0 I never imagined that marriage licenses would be opened up to all residents of Idaho regardless of gender.\u00a0 I never imagined that I would be part of this.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Any other thoughts on this you\u2019d like to share?<\/p>\n

Years ago I was against this, until I realized that everyone had rights, regardless of gender.\u00a0 And when two people love each other, what right do I have to tell them that they have no right to be together?<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s a great question.\u00a0 One that I hope more people will take to heart.<\/p>\n

And if marriage equality ever comes to South Dakota, my home state, I\u2019m sure I\u2019ll have some more stories to tell.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Marriage equality has come to Idaho. \u00a0Idaho! Of course the big news is the fact that gay and lesbian Americans now have the right to marry in 32 states, a majority for the first time in U.S. history. But I have a small story to share about one place, one courthouse. My husband grew up […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1142,"featured_media":2362,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,19,7,11],"tags":[839,1008,54,840],"class_list":["post-2360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christianity","category-gender","category-lgbt","category-news","tag-idaho","tag-lgbt","tag-marriage-equality","tag-power-county"],"yoast_head":"\n\u201cWhen Two People Love Each Other, What Right Do I Have...?\u201d<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Marriage equality has come to Idaho. \u00a0Idaho! 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