With the presidential election fast approaching, College freshman Atlee Melillo thought it would be the perfect occasion for some wedding cake.
Adorned with two grooms on one side and two brides on the other, Melillo said she hopes the white cake she passed out yesterday in Houston Hall will serve as an educational - and delicious - reminder that gay marriage is still very much an election issue, she said.
Today officially marks the 11th annual Freedom to Marry Day, a nationwide effort led by Freedom to Marry, a "gay and non-gay partnership" fighting for marriage equality, according to its Web site. Conferences, film screenings and rallies will take place in 21 states across the country in an effort to promote legalization of gay marriage.
Melillo, co-chairperson of ALLIES, an on-campus gay-straight alliance dedicated to educating the community about Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender issues, noted that Penn is one of the few universities - and the only one in Pennsylvania - hosting Freedom to Marry Day. This is the second year that it has been held on campus, said College sophomore and ALLIES co-chairperson Michael Strother.
Yesterday's recognition of this national movement included the wedding cake reception and a talk given by American University law professor Nancy Polikoff about her new book, "Beyond (Straight and Gay) Marriage: Valuing All Families Under the Law." The events were sponsored by ALLIES, the LGBT Center and Lambda Law, the organization for LGBT law students and faculty,
The Penn events were held a day earlier than the national Freedom to Marry Day in order to accommodate Polikoff's schedule, explained Strother.
As students passing by stopped to grab a slice of cake in Houston Hall, Melillo and other ALLIES members encouraged them to sign a petition for a "Marriage Resolution" that would allow same-gender couples the same "rights, responsibilities and commitment of civil marriage."
Massachusetts is currently the only state that has legalized gay marriage, while civil unions are offered to same-gender couples in New Jersey, Vermont, New Hampshire and Connecticut.
Current legal restrictions on gay marriage in the remaining states "parallel separate but equal laws that make gays and lesbians second-class citizens," Melillo said.
"A couple who has been together for 30 years isn't given the same status as someone who has eloped in Vegas," said College sophomore Anna Aagenes, pointing out adoption and hospital visitation rights as examples of disparities in rights conferred to straight spouses and not to same-gender partners.
Aagenes said she hopes Freedom to Marry Day will raise awareness and encourage discussion.
"I've seen a lot of new faces coming up to sign the petition," she said, "and that's really promising."
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