Walked in with our insurance card (which is in my name) and handed it over. "Is this your mom?" asked the woman at the desk (this makes us laugh, because he is prematurely gray at age 26!). "No - it's my wife." "Oh ok! Great." And that was that - he had access to care that might have cost us hundreds or thousands otherwise. Just dropped the magical w-word!

A couple months before we got married, we had to go fill out an "affidavit of domestic partnership" just to get him into the gym on campus. Our insurance agent wouldn't cover his belongings, because the house is in my name and we weren't married. I had to sign a form every quarter so that he could use the university pharmacy.

We got married in Massachusetts because he didn't want to get married somewhere that wouldn't allow EVERYONE to get married. There is a lot of anger and divisiveness and heartbreak on this board -- but I wanted to put this out there on behalf of myself and other straight allies who may not GET IT on the deepest most personal level, but still think that marriage equality is the most important civil rights issue of our time. There are many of us who have your backs and want to help fight with you for the rights and protections we take for granted every day. We'll march with you or be a shoulder to cry on or just read your frustration on a message board. But we are here.