Gay Marriage

While working on my interview and writing the opening in italics, I wrote that my interviewee, a woman, had a child and was married. I emailed this to her, and she corrected me by saying that she wasn't legally married. This is because my interviewee's partner was also a woman, and same-sex marriage is not legal in Illinois. Although I knew this, it still seemed strange to me. They have a child, own a house, live and work in our community, and have been together as a couple for several years, yet they are not married. At first I just thought about how strange the situation was, but soon I began thinking about what implications this law has. First, they cannot share healthcare. Although my interviewee's job should also cover her partner's healthcare, it does not. Her partner is self-employed, and therefore must buy her own healthcare separately, which is much more expensive. Second, the fact they cannot celebrate being together with a wedding  infers that society chooses to reject their relationship. Third, if one of them had to go to the hospital, the other partner would not even be allowed to visit her, because "legally" they aren't family. Also, my interviewee gave birth, and her partner had to go through a long and stressful process of adopting that son, which was also expensive, because "legally" the child wasn't hers. Even if our society is not yet ready to accept same-sex marriage, can't we start by limiting stupid restrictions like these?