Marriage Equality: The Journey to Equal Rights

In a deeply personal account, Minita Sanghvi reflects on her life, marred by the absence of marriage equality in the United States for same-sex couples. She vividly recalls the challenges she and her partner, Megan, faced as they navigated a society that denied them 1,138 statutory provisions because they were not legally married. These rights ranged from hospital visitation to tax deductions and healthcare benefits, exclusively available to heterosexual couples.

Minita met Megan in 2010, and their relationship bloomed with discussions on politics, race, and love. They decided to marry but encountered a significant roadblock: same-sex marriage was illegal in North Carolina, their home state. Determined to tie the knot, they ventured to Massachusetts, where they became one of the first same-sex couples to legally wed in 2013.

Returning to North Carolina, they realized their marriage wasn’t recognized, and they could be fired for being gay. Fearing for their future and that of their soon-to-be-born child, they relocated to a state where same-sex marriage was legal.

In 2015, the US Supreme Court’s landmark Obergefell v. Hodges ruling granted same-sex couples the constitutional right to marry, securing equal rights for all. This momentous decision marked a transition from a life of struggle to one of freedom, where they could live and thrive without battling discrimination at every turn.

Re-reported from the article originally published in The Hindustan Times