This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

I don't like how marriage equality is being increasingly framed as a gay and lesbian issue. It's also a transgender issue, and it benefits heterosexual couples.

My wife and I, while being lesbian, are also transgender, were married on Dec. 30, 2013. Marriages in which one or both persons is transgender have been subject to interpretation by the judge or clerk. Because someone who transitions has a sex they were born with and a gender they transitioned to, the gender of the person is frequently and discriminatorily ruled to be one which puts the couple in a same-sex relationship, and hence not entitled to services. Marriage equality takes gender out of the equation and rules in the favor of love and commitment.

Heterosexual couples benefit because there is no longer a default dominant gender in the relationship, and are free to explore the dynamic that feels more natural to them.

Marriage equality is a human issue, not just a lesbian or gay issue. Let's remember that all of the LGBT people, including bisexual and transgender people as well as families with non-traditional roles, are impacted by the court rulings on marriage equality and are out there fighting as well.

Sophia Hawes-Tingey

Salt Lake City