Where were you on the morning of June 26, 2015? Can you remember? History was made eight years ago on this date. Perhaps it changed your life. Let me give you some help - an historic decision was made by the US Supreme Court, effecting the entire nation. They affirmed equality. They said that gay people can marry too. Some states had already done it, but now with the High Court's ruling, same-sex couples could marry nationwide. Now eight years later in 2023 it might not seem like as big a deal, but it was! It really was.
In writing the majority opinion, Justice Anthony McLeod Kennedy said these words, which have since ended up on posters:
No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. In the forming of a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were. As some of the petitioners in these cases demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death. It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves. Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization's oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right. The judgement of the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit is reversed. It is so ordered.
I know I just wrote about marriage equality last week, but this day in 2015 was so very important, I simply HAD to say something. There was a lot of celebrating back then. It was a happy day. Since then there has been progress in other countries. I won't pretend that the whole world has changed. I won't pretend that there is not still a lot of work to do. I also won't pretend that everyone is happy about the advancements and is celebrating. We do have reason for joy though. We do have reason to hope for brighter tomorrows. On this date eight years ago, things got a little better. History was made!
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