Earlier this year, former Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) held a generally unexciting conference at the Hy-Vee supermarket in Iowa Falls, Iowa. Among the many topics in Mr. Santorum’s discussions was that of same-sex marriage.

On the topic of same-sex marriage, Mr. Santorum decided he would get “metaphysical,” and used a nearby napkin to draw an analogy that, for many of us, still has us scratching our heads. Of the napkin, Mr. Santorum said:

“I can call this napkin a paper towel, but it is a napkin. Why? Because it is what it is, right? You can call it whatever you want, but it doesn’t change the character of what it is.”

As clever as his analogy may be, it couldn’t be farther from the truth. In fact, the point Mr. Santorum makes is a perfect example of the flawed logic behind some of the opposition to marriage equality.

The truth of the matter is that what we have here-to-fore referred to as “same-sex” marriage is no different than any marriage between opposite-sex couples. In both cases, two people come together in love and unity to declare, before God, their unending love for one another. It makes no difference whether it is a man and a woman, two men, or two women. Ultimately, holy matrimony derives its sanctity from the love that both partners share for one another, and not from the genitalia with which they were bestowed.

However, by calling it “same-sex marriage” or “gay marriage,” we are unwittingly differentiating between the marriage of two same-gendered persons and that of two opposite- gendered persons when, in fact, there exists no difference at all. In order to better illustrate this concept, I will create a little analogy of my own:

When a gay man finds an apartment, he signs a lease. He does not sign a “gay” lease. The fact that he is gay does not change the legal responsibility that he has undertaken. If we were to call it a “gay lease,” we would begin to subconsciously differentiate between the apartment leases that straight people signed and the apartment leases that gay people signed. In reality, there is no difference. It doesn’t matter whether you are gay or straight, a lease is a lease.

In much the same way, by referring to marriages between same-sex couples as either “same-sex” marriages or “gay” marriages, we are subconsciously reinforcing the idea that marriages between gay couples are any different than marriages between straight couples.

Gay men and women across the country are not fighting for “same-sex marriage;” they are fighting for “marriage.”

They are not petitioning for something that looks like marriage; they are petitioning for exactly the same “marriage” that we have come to know.

Gay men and women don’t require civil unions that are “separate, but equal,” to marriage; they require full access to the same civil liberties that every heterosexual person in American is afforded, including, but not limited to, MARRIAGE.

The next time you want to say “gay marriage” or “same-sex marriage,” try just using the word “marriage” instead. It’s shorter, to the point, and it’s nothing less than what gay men and women deserve.

Spencer J Eggers is a senior majoring in Accounting and Spanish with a minor in Photography. He can be reached for comment at [email protected]