Students of all sexual orientations were invited to participate in mock weddings on the quad as part of National Freedom to Marry Day on Feb. 14. They were given marriage certificates good for one day as well as rings, candy and poppers to celebrate the weddings.
The event, sponsored by AU Queers and Allies, was a success, said K.T. Thirion, president of AU Queers and Allies. She said that it was a fun event to raise awareness of marriage inequalities for gay and lesbian couples. "People who aren't involved in Queers and Allies or the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Allies (GLBTA) Resource Center came and got married," she said.
Under the Defense of Marriage Act, same-sex couples are denied hospital visitations, tax benefits, health insurance, inheritance and on-campus family housing, among other rights granted to married heterosexual couples.
"The bottom line is it's a case of a specific group of people denied rights simply based on sexual orientation," said Thirion.
Thirion said that because same-sex couples can get civil unions in Vermont and Connecticut, people think that discrimination doesn't exist, but those civil unions don't apply in other states.
Eric Jost, who married Vincent Villano, a co-worker at the GLBTA resource center, said that his mock marriage was "an act of protest, albeit an enjoyable one.
"Marriage protection amendments currently making the rounds across the country are on the same level of segregation," Jost said. Jost compared same-sex segregation to Japanese internment camps during World War II.
According to Jost, same-sex couples are granted equal rights in Massachusetts, Canada and Spain. "God did not send a natural disaster their way to punish them for creating equality," he said.
The Freedom to Marry event was well received by AU students, said Thirion. "We didn't get any protests," she said.
