Though Yazan’s struggles with his family and with Brittany took center stage this week, there were many struggles.
Kenneth and Armando were so excited to apply for their marriage license … which only made the result more disappointing.
Kenneth Niedermeier and Armando Rubio’s segment of this week’s episode of 90 Day Fiance: The Other Way was rough.
Season 2, Episode 18 saw the two of them preparing to apply for a marriage license.
The engaged couple was already having to jump through extra hurdles that a straight couple would never encounter.
First, Armando has to write up a letter — essentially a cover letter like you’d put on a resume — for their application.
This is not something that a man and woman would have to do for their application.
Additionally, he has heard horror stories about same-sex couples being denied marriage licenses, and fears that he and Kenny will be next.
Mexico has had Marriage Equality since 2015 — and, in some areas, since years earlier.
But just like here in the US, having a constitutional right on paper does not mean being free from discrimination — especially in specific areas.
Kenneth jokes that the two of them are simply too cute to be denied. Sadly, that is not the case.
The clerk, though very nice, has no actual power in this area, and has to tell the two of them “no.”
Armando and Kenneth are obviously upset but keep their emotions in check.
She walks them through the paradoxical reasons for which she has no deny them today.
“In this case, we have a law that states, ‘No you, can’t,'” the clerk explains.
“And we have a constitution that says, ‘Yes, you can,'” she continues.
“Sadly, we don’t have legislation that supports us to reform our code,” she laments. “The one that says we still can’t allow same-sex marriage to go through.”
That said, the clerk is very much on their side, and recommends that they go to the Human Rights Commission and lodge a complaint.
This, she says, will hopefully put them on the path to obtaining their marriage license.
Kenneth and Armando are determined to make their marriage official … but they cannot help but wonder what other surprises are before them.
“I don’t think even seven words were spoken and it was ‘denied,'” Kenneth laments.
He continues: “It wasn’t even a discussion. That’s their protocol — to deny you right away.”
An immediate denial is more than some people can handle.
In a way, this is a lot like voter suppression.
Make more requirements and make it harder, and fewer people will do it, even if it’s still possible.
But as we noted, Kenneth and Armando have anxieties about what will come in the future.
For example, Kenneth asks if they will encounter similar roadblocks when they look for a venue.
The answer is … maybe. Some wedding venues may have bigoted owners. If it’s legal to discriminate, someone will.
But many wedding venues wouldn’t bat an eye, might consider a gay couple on reality TV to be good publicity, and will never turn down a check.
It may be that Kenneth and Armando knew that this was likely and are doing this battle on camera to highlight this particular injustice.
If not, they may have other options. There are extremely gay-friendly places in Mexico where they could have a wedding and then return home, still married.
But if their goal is to show people how many unique obstacles the LGBTQ+ community faces, well, then they’re doing a great job of that. This is so unfair.