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Story by Belinda Wong

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that long-time same-sex marriage advocates Lancy Woo and Cristy Chung, had broken up.

Woo and Chung told the Chronicle, "We remain fully committed to the principle that couples should be able to marry without regard to their sexual orientation, and we have been honored to be a part of this historic litigation," insisting that their split would have no legal effects on the case.

Last month, a California appeals court ruled that same-sex couples do not have the constitutional right to marry, leaving the decisionghts must be granted by the Legislature or voters. Attorneys arguing for same-sex marriage are expected to file a request today asking the state Supreme Court to hear the case. They said the breakup should not affect the case.

So a gay couple breaks up...Big whoop. How dare anyone say that that has any bearing on the issue.

Same-sex marriage opponents argue that these unions do not have "the staying power" of heterosexual marriage.

But why should it?

Statistics from this Web site show that the last-reported U.S. divorce rate as of May, 2005, is 38 divorces per 1,000 marriages per year, and there is NO mention of sexuality.

In April, San Francisco State University human sexuality studies Professor Gilbert Herdt published a report titled, "I Do, But I Can't," a study on the impact on the mental health of gay couples who are denied marriage.

The study concluded that due to the absence of marriage in the gay community, there appears to be a high rate of stress-related disorders, including what experts call "minority stress," or constant discrimination from a majority group.

The research also suggests that "married heterosexuals are healthier physically and mentally, and it's only logical to assume that gays and lesbians who are married would experience the same," Herdt said.

Citing that the "correlation between marriage and well-being is robust," the study says that "policymakers should be concerned about the impact the denial of marriage has upon the mental health and well-being of gay men and lesbians. We argue that this harm calls for immediate rectification of laws and policies to allow same-sex marriage."

Call me idealistic, but granting homosexuals that right to marriage just seems logical, not to mention, justified. Gay and lesbian couples should not be denied any of the rights that heterosexuals are entitled to, and it is a damn shame that there is even discussion about it.