Couple still planning wedding after hold on marriages
Same-sex marriage is on hold in Idaho, but that isn’t going to stop one local couple from tying the knot in another state until what they say is inevitable occurs – same-sex marriage being legal in Idaho.
Amanda Gomez and Moe Osterhout said their story is classic meeting, dating, falling in love and wanting to start a family.
“We’re in the process of trying to having a child together,” said Gomez. “We’re just waiting for it to become legal to get married so we can buy a house together.”
Gomez and Osterhoutwere already planning on going our of state to get married, and then Tuesday’s decision from Magistrate Judge Candy Dale came through, telling them they could tie the knot Friday.
So the couple changed their plans, telling hundreds of their friends and family they were going to head to the Bannock County Courthouse early in the morning Friday to make sure they had one of the first spots to get a marriage certificate.
But walking out of the courthouse with a marriage certificate may not be in their future, after the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals granted Gov. Butch Otter his request for an emergency stay on the decision.
The pair said they’re frustrated they have waited for so long for the time they could get married, only to have something that means so much to them taken away.
“If my significant other goes into the hospital it’s the rights to be able to see that person.” Gomez said. “It’s more than just a piece of paper to me and it’s extremely frustrating that it keeps getting shot down.”
Both said there are a lot of opinions flying around about marriage, but they said they have no say over someone else’s marriage. So why should anyone have a say over their marriage?
“I don’t think marriage is a heterosexual privilege,” Osterhoutsaid. “I think it’s a human right.”
She also said many people turn the marriage debate into a matter of religion. She said she was raised in the Church of Jesus Christ if Latter-Day Saints, and that growing up with the scriptures, family and society telling her what she should be feeling was confusing.
“The scriptures, if you will, also say you shouldn’t be lying, and I feel like I was lying to myself (about my sexuality),” Osterhoutsaid. “Lying is referenced much more than homosexuality is.”
The couple also said they are frustrated they are tax-paying citizens in Idaho, and those tax dollars are being used against them by the governor and attorney general pursuing the appeal.
