Are there actually any people here AGAINST gay marriage?

[liberalhistorian]

26. This happily married chick certainly agrees with you on that!

I was single until I married several years ago, I was almost 43 (but I did have a son, even though I'd never been married, so I guess you could say I wasn't completely single and childless). The difference in legal, economic, tax, financial and social benefits (not to mention many others) was truly incredible to me. The second I said "I do", I was the beneficiary of myriad benefits across a wide spectrum of areas even though I was the exact same person. I was also suddenly viewed very differently socially and culturally, as most singles older than 35 are looked on with more and more suspicion; my father and his side of the family suddenly began treating me as a real adult for the first time in my life, even though I was almost middle-aged! It was as if my life wasn't as important or didn't really matter until and unless I was married.

I'd known about all that before, having once been a member of the American Association of Single Persons (their website was a real eye-opener in regards to the many ways singles are discriminated against and the countless benefits they are denied), but to actually experience the difference between being single and married was a real change. I've never understood why that had to be the case. I understand the historical and sociological developments and reasons, but it still doesn't make any true sense.

I don't know if the website's still there, but it was www.unmarriedamerica.com.