by Kathryn (ayrlynangel@yahoo.com)

In the early 1900’s the British Government in South Africa declared that all non-Christian marriages were invalid.  A little known lawyer opposed this and other similarly unjust laws of the British Government.  This man was Mahatma Gandhi – a man whose policy of nonviolent non-cooperation eventually led the entire country of India to freedom from British rule.  He demonstrated that justice is not won through war, nor through the idle talk of a select few elite, but through the active disobedience of an entire nation.  The people did not raise their fists to fight, but they refused to follow unmerited laws.

In 1996, the Federal Government of the United States of America signed into law the Defense of Marriage act.  This act has essentially overridden the marital laws of individual states through the unjust application of Federal taxes.  Although a same-sex couple may be legally married within a state, that couple is prevented from claiming a married status on federal tax returns.

In almost all cases, the tax law that enables spouses to file a joint tax return also ensures that the subsequent tax burden of the couple is reduced.  By denying a same-sex couple the right to file a joint tax return, the federal government is effectively imposing a tax on homosexuality.

Sexual orientation is not a sin to be taxed as one.  The Federal Government has an absolute obligation to respect the right of States to define marriage, and to acknowledge legally performed marriages.

With the upcoming tax season, I urge all those who support the LGBT movement who are members of a same-sex marriage to follow in Gandhi’s example of nonviolent non-cooperation.  Do not file your tax return separately when you know that you are married!  File a joint return! Claim those exemptions due you! In all things respecting your marriage, assert that you are married, whether local, state, or federal!  On all levels or no levels is your marriage valid.  

If you are audited, defend your marriage.  You ARE legally married.  Do not tolerate injustice, whatever form it takes.  There is no obligation for a moral man or woman to obey a law that intentionally predates on a minority.

Over the course of our short history, our government has often been the tool of the proud, the frightened, and the arrogant, those who would willingly deny others the rights they so freely enjoy.  It has always been the prerogative of the brave and noble few to raise the flags of change.  Through small movements – even the production of salt where it was illegal – Gandhi freed India.  Let us do the same, let us free the oppressed here.  File jointly - you are married.

© All Rights Reserved, Erie Gay News, Contact Info: info@eriegaynews.com

Media provided by: GayWebSource.com - Gay News Media and Press Network