When Narda Rivera and Alejandra Gerardo, a committed couple for more than four years, talk to their two children about their union, they often use the word “love” as the underpinning to understand marriage.
“With the kids we talk to them about love,” said Gerardo. “Once they see the love, to them it doesn’t matter.”
Talking to people about their relationship and their dreams for equality is what this Tucson couple intends to do as part of a campaign to support same-sex marriage for Arizona residents.
Gerardo and Rivera joined civil-rights leader Dolores Huerta and others Tuesday night at Southside Presbyterian Church to kick off the campaign to Tucson. Earlier that day supporters initiated it in Phoenix.
Huerta is a co-founder of the United Farmworkers Union.
Why Marriage Matters Arizona is the effort organized by the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, the Human Rights Campaign, Equality Arizona and Freedom to Marry, as well as several individuals, elected officials, members of the clergy and organizations.
The grassroots outreach is part of a larger strategy to overturn the state’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. In other states, similar restrictions have been struck down by federal courts.
But while briefs are being prepared and arguments are made in court, couples like Rivera and Gerardo intend to talk. Talk about their lives, how they met and fell in love, how their families support them (in most cases) and how some day they would like to marry. Just like heterosexual couples do.
“We should be able to enjoy the same benefits as everybody else,” said Rivera, who along with her partner is active with Puertas Abiertas — Spanish for “Open Doors” — a social and cultural outreach group.
“Marriage is about family,” said Jeremy Zegas, project director for Why Marriage Matters Arizona. “No member of any family should be told that they cannot marry.”
That day could come in Arizona as challenges to the state ban make their way through the courts. A federal court of appeals that has jurisdiction over Arizona has heard arguments on marriage prohibitions in Nevada and Idaho.
Zegas said a favorable ruling could affect Arizona. In addition, a federal district judge recently ruled in favor of a Green Valley man who had the state recognize his California marriage to his partner. Sadly, George Martinez died after the ruling in support of his partner and widower, Fred McQuire. While the ruling affects only McQuire, it is nonetheless a small step forward.
That is how all social movements have progressed, taking small steps and sometimes backward steps. But the movement cannot rely solely on the courts to remedy the ills and damages created by same-sex marriage bans.
It takes people talking to one another, understanding each other, and getting to know individuals as people to help Gerardo and Rivera achieve their dream of marriage.
“It makes issues much easier to grasp when you understand the personal nature of them. They are real people with real concerns,” said Zegas.
The campaign intends to engage different communities and social groups. At the Southside church, the rally focused on the Latino community. Whether it’s in English or Spanish, familia is family. Many Latino families have someone in the clan who is gay or lesbian.
And support for same-sex marriage among Latinos is growing. According to a 2013 Pew Research Center report, 52 percent of Latinos favored marriage equality, while 34 percent opposed it. Six years earlier it was the opposite. The trend toward greater support among Latinos is similar to the general population.
“We know our community will listen,” said Huerta.
