Late on 6-24-2011, The New York Legislature finally recognized the rights of gays and lesbians to marry in the now greater State of New York.
I was initially overjoyed at this wonderful news. All citizens deserve equal rights. It's that simple. If I have the right to marry, so should everyone else. But then I became concerned.

When gay partners weren't offered medical benefits because they weren't part of a married couple, insurers, under pressure, started to offer benefits to those couples in domestic partnerships. That had the effect of helping gays, but also those in committed relationships who chose to remain single.

Now that gays can marry, I can't help but wonder whether health insurance companies will use this as an excuse to stop offering the domestic partner benefits that exist today. I truly hope not.

The future I'd like to see is a "plus one, plus kids" system. You, plus any one person you like. Your mom. Your dad. Your grandma. Your sister. Your best friend. Plus your kids. Finally, single people would start to be treated on equal terms with married people.

I'm deeply, profoundly happy to see gays enjoy the rights that so many of us take for granted. But I long for the day when the government leaves marriage benefits in the realm of religion. Let people marry or not as their heart determines, and leave the special rights, financial benefits and tax breaks out of it completely. 

Given how many singles there are, it's the fair thing to do.