Texas argued to the Fifth Circuit, in January 2015, that marriage is a subsidy like the school lunch program. Is there any part of your marriage that reminds you of the school lunch program? According to Texas, marriage is a subsidy it can give to certain groups but not to others just as it can provide a free lunch subsidy to only poor children. Texas believes your right to marry is the equivalent of a subsidy.
My parents are 80 and 81. They have been married for 57 years. They have four children and six grandchildren. When I stop by to see them this week, I will explain that their 57 year marriage was granted to them because Texas agreed to subsidize their union. My father who served in the U.S. Army as a captain, is a graduate of Texas A and M University, and is a retired dentist will be puzzled by my announcement.
You see, in about the 4th grade, he taught me that marriage is a federal right that flows from our U.S. citizenship just like the right to vote, to travel, and to worship God or not. Just to be sure he was not making this up, I decided to go to law school. It turns out he was right. See Virginia v. Loving.
On second thought, I will not tell my dad that Texas thinks marriage is a subsidy. That idea is too painful and offensive. Instead, I will thank him for being the primary caregiver of my ailing mom and for teaching me that marriage is worth fighting for.
