If you've been paying attention to the queer blogs, there have been rumblings that recently out singer (publicly, that is) Ricky Martin has been trying to get Spanish citizenship. Today his wish was granted, and now the singer has requested a special "letter of naturalization" of the Spanish government—which would enable him to bypass the usual steps to citizenship—in order to take advantage of the country’s same-sex marriage laws and marry his longtime boyfriend Carlos Gonzalez Abella. As you all may (or may not) know, same sex marriage has been legal in Spain since 2005, and so far 20,000 same sex couples have tied the knot there.
Here's what Ricky said last year when he was on CNN promoting his book, titled Me:
“I would get married… There are many countries around the world where same-sex marriage is a right. Not in Puerto Rico, unfortunately. And not in many states in America.”
“Yes, we could go to Spain and get married. We can go to Argentina and get married. But why do we have to go somewhere else? Why can’t I do it in my country where the laws are – you know, protecting me?”
“I can go to Spain. I have many friends in Spain. And get married. And make it very beautiful and symbolic. But… I [can't] do it in the backyard of my house. I want to have that option. I don’t want to be a second class citizen anymore. I pay my taxes. Why can’t I have that right?”
I couldn't have said it better myself. If he does in fact tie the knot, I'll be expecting my invitation in the mail, because we all know this will be a wedding that will last longer than 72 days, hours, and minutes. I just yearn for the day when all 50 American states will grant people the right to marry whomever they want and this is no longer an issue.
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