Simple words, huge impact

So. My partner and I were married in May this year. We live in North Carolina, so we went to Massachusetts as homage to their being first in the nation to put out the rainbow welcome mat. My partner planned to change her name and, knowing that NC didn't recognize our marriage, she went the "civil" route. At the county court house, she was told she had to buy a package of forms for $5, pay for an FBI background check, pay for an SBI background check, submit a notarized affidavit that she has no liens against her, etc, etc, etc to the tune of $150-$200 dollars. And that was if we didn't pay a lawyer to help with the process.

We were discouraged and outright mad, since her straight co-worker who is planning to marry later this year said all she has to do is take her SS card and marriage certificate to a SS office and voila, all done.

We were still paying for an EPIC wedding adventure so we decided we'd hold off for a while and hope that DOMA would be overturned. Once it was, she took her paperwork to the local SSI office, showed the clerk her paperwork. When he noticed, he said, "This is a same sex marriage. We haven't had one of these yet, I have to go check to make sure I get this right".

She wasn't sure how it would go but nervously waited for him to return. When he did, he looked her in the eye and said, "I'm to treat this like any other marriage".

Who knew such simple words could have such a powerful impact.