Gender doesn’t matter; love does

To the Editor:

I was born and raised in Little Falls.

I go to a university where students are constantly stressed out by exams and panicked about our careers. There’s barely time to date, much less think about marriage.

I hear about my Little Falls Community High School classmates having children and planning weddings, and I envy them. I’m going to give it a few years, but one day — once I find the right guy — I want to get married too. I want a family.

That family — “my” family — is on the ballot this fall.

People don’t get married for legal purposes. My husband is going to be my husband no matter what a piece of paper says. But Minnesotans have a chance to take us a step closer to equality. We can make a statement that gender doesn’t matter. Love does.

I don’t want to ruin anyone else’s marriage. I don’t want to undermine anyone’s religious beliefs. What I do want is for all Minnesotans to have a little faith that my love — whether or not they understand or endorse it — can be just as committed and selfless and real as theirs.

Please, take a leap of faith and vote “No” on the Marriage Amendment. — Jacob Devine, Little Falls