Issue date: 3/2/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Jeff Bennett GSA members Joseph Rose cuts up a wedding cake on Feb. 21 National Freedom to Marry Day. The event celebrated in the Student Center, the GSA provided cake, sparkling cider and one day marriage licences for faculty and students to celebrate the day with them.

Wedding cake and sparkling apple cider was served and red t-shirts were worn to show support of gay marriage. On Feb. 21, the Las Positas College Gay Straight Alliance Club (GSA) celebrated National Freedom to Marry Day.
National Freedom to Marry day is a non-official annual holiday on Feb. 12 that promotes same sex marriage. The month of Feb. also holds Valentine's Day and Lincoln's Birthday, combining the themes of love and equality. The GSA held it on Feb. 21 because holding it on the Feb. 14 conflicted with Club Day. Buttons with phrases such as, "Marriage is a civil right" were handed outt and unofficial marriage licenses were signed.
"It's a political statement proposing that marriage is not something to be restricted on sexual orientation or anything else along those lines," said Nathan Corenjo, president of the GSA. Subjects as sensitive as this are rarely talked about openly on school campuses. National Freedom to Marry Day created an opportunity to educate the public on the topic of marriage discrimination. "It's a day to let people know that everyone is equal, including gays," said Joseph Rose, a member of GSA
Gay marriage causes controversy about basic values of love, commitment, fairness and freedom. According to bidstrup.com, "more than half of all people in the United States oppose gay marriage." Gay couples are denied many rights that traditional married couples have, such as making medical decisions for a partner who's incapacitate. "I've never heard a coherent argument on gay marriage," said Corenjo. Love just isn't enough to get a marriage certificate.
Gabriel Perez, a GSA member said, "People don't see gay marriage as natural, it's wrong. Marriage is a thing between two people that love each other. Its just love, that's all."
GSA believes that the message of National Freedom to Marry day is something that needs to be heard always, not just on Feb. 12.
"I'm not a huge advocate…. I'm more of the peace guy. If you don't like it, I can accept that. It's your opinion. I don't think you're a bad person because of it. You just have to accept it. You have to take the good with the bad. We're not here to push our opinions on people, were here to inform them," said Rose.
It was a day to celebrate and reflect on values of equality and love. "We appreciated everyone that showed up. It's important for people to get involved," said Nathan Corenjo.

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