It’s tough not to marvel at how far the marriage equality movement has come in such a relatively short time, and this video from Vox couldn’t have done a better job at capturing the legal victories.
Watch the incredible journey from New Hampshire in 2004 to the love-affirming SCOTUS decision from this morning:
AtticusBennett
it started with people gathering secretly in living rooms, with the windows shut and the doors locked, asking “So, what are we? How many more of us are there?” Over time we would congregate together, in slightly-more-public places, eventually taking them over and they became a place “for us”. Progress was being able to enter our “bars” from the front door, not a hidden back entrance. Progress was being able to drink in peace without being cops raiding our bars, arresting us, publishing our names in the papers, and beating us.
From those places came the villages, communities, and more and more of us would leave homes and small towns to get to the cities to find out who we are, and how many more of us there were. we have faced persecution, oppression, and discrimination from the people who are supposed to love us, from the forces who are supposed to protect us. we lost so many along the way. we will lose more.
and yet we will not stop until we can all stand up strong, in the bright light of day, and face a world that is no longer predisposed to prejudice against us. equal rights. equal treatment. equality. fairness. freedom.
where Coming Out will no longer be seen as a terrifying moment akin to your life ending, but to a joyous new step toward a life of love.
where we will no longer question if we’ll be treated with dignity and respect. where a kid can look outside and see that even if the people in their family and community are not supportive, the government is on their side, and respects them as a human being of equal worth. the law is on their side. intelligence and compassion favour them over hatred and exclusion.
may this help ease centuries of hate. may it unleash waves of lives half-lived so they can become they lives they were intended to be.
you can try to drown it in a sea of tears, lock it up in chains for a million years. run from it, hide from it, but one thing is clear,
you can’t stop love.
Evan McMahon
11 years? Try 19… DoMA was passed in 1996.
AtticusBennett
btw, wanna see some CRAZY?!
look at how Gay Republicans are responding to today’s landmark ruling.
http://www.gaypatriot.net
spoiler alert – they’re really upset about equality being made the law of the land. like, TOTES upset. furious.
another spoiler – if you comment or post anything pro-equality or “liberal”, you will be banned and blocked, and your comment deleted. if you post anti-gay comments, you won’t be blocked.
because “free speech” to gay republicans means “right wing speech only, even if it’s anti-gay”
this, my friends, is why the GOP won’t ever move forward – gay republicans are too worthless to respect.
Valdemar Machado
Made me tear up :,)
1EqualityUSA
maggie’s eating a pint of haagen daz, bitter-bigot-nut.
Giancarlo85
@AtticusBennett: Gay Patriot… talk about a bunch of self hating shits that want to be in the closet all day.
Gay republicans are toothless and cowards. Take a look at this blog. They were out in such force yesterday slandering Obama and Hillary, yet are nowhere to be found today. They vanished. A bunch of self hating bastards who don’t care for anyone but themselves. And even they don’t understand how bad republicans are for this country.
SeanBear
I am proud to say that Russ and I were the 1st couple in Lowell Ma. (the 4th largest city in Ma.) to apply for a marriage license. In the 11 years we have been married we have fought for equality by being a married gay couple in the suburbs….An average couple….modest jobs….close family….We have been “Fairy God Fathers” to several college “kids”…supporting them through college….We have had wonderful neighbors, coworkers and friends. We have championed gay marriage by being a suburban couple. A suburban married gay couple. Just like every other married couple…living a quiet life in the suburbs. We made a statement by not denying who were were. Just a married couple. We have been together 21 years. Many people congratulate us for being together so long…I like to say …Long is 50 years…congratulate us then. 21 years is no big deal….