Will is 7 and Sam is almost 2. Some day, down the road a bit, they’ll read something in the paper or see something on TV about “gay marriage,” and they’ll be confused.
“Dad, what do they mean by ‘gay’ marriage? It’s just marriage, right?”
And I’ll have to remind them gay people weren’t always allowed the same rights as the rest of us. I’ll have to remind them it wasn’t until the year 2015 and by securing the narrowest margin of victory by the Supreme Court of the United States, that gay people in America were treated equally when it came to being able to marry who you love.
They’ll stare at me with raised eyebrows and incredulous expressions, because they won’t be able to fathom how stupid that sounds. It will be utterly incomprehensible to them that so many people in this country treated gay people as second class citizens for so long.
It’ll be just how I looked at my parents when they told me interracial marriage used to be outlawed, or black people and women couldn’t always vote.
I don’t go full ‘MURICA!!! too often, but I’m proud of my country today. It took longer than it should have, but ultimately we did the right thing. We haven’t solved homophobia and we can’t stop fighting for LGBTQIA (for any other letters I may be missing, my apologies) rights, but this is cause to celebrate.
Everyone can marry whoever they want in all 50 states. Victory.
Of course, not everyone sees it that way. Check out these erudite ladies and gentlemen:
— The Watcher (@SoCaliMilitia1) June 26, 2015
— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) June 26, 2015
Marriage between a man and a woman was established by God, and no earthly court can alter that. http://t.co/1Kfw9l0KMG
— Gov. Bobby Jindal (@BobbyJindal) June 26, 2015
If your gay thats your choice and its cool but dont be one of them loud faggot ass niggas that want everyone to know he gay. 😒 hate them
— Mr. Untouchable (@_GoogleMeBruhh) June 26, 2015
If I see one more tweet about this gay marriage shit ima spazz, there’s a boy & a girl for a reason, I hate fucking faggots
— Loud #HeartlessFelon (@LoudTheSavage) June 26, 2015
I am not homophobic if I say “Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve”. It was like that in the bible, he only made woman&man to reproduce
— werønika (@starlxrd) June 26, 2015
Yes, these ridiculous clowns are an affront to decency, common sense, and proper grammar/spelling. And honestly, they do upset me and get under my skin at times. However, I’ve come to realize something very important. Something worth noting and remembering in these modern times.
The world is a better place than ever before. And that’s largely because people of the world are more tolerant than ever before.
The old, white, conservative, religious guard isn’t what it used to be, and for the first time they find themselves losing power, influence, and the numbers game. Seeking to deny gay people equality while rejecting proven science regarding climate change and defending the Confederate flag just isn’t going to fly anymore. They’ve lost the middle ground and they don’t seem to know how to adapt.
But when a caged animal is cornered, it gets desperate.
That’s why you’re seeing tweets like these and outrageous public statements regarding current events. It’s fear. People who have held the power for a long time never want to give it up willingly, so the final holdouts will be louder than ever to compensate for fewer people in their ranks. Basically, we’re seeing the death throes of idiocy. And not a moment too soon.
So congratulations to all the gay people out there who can now enjoy marriage equality. Congratulations to the five US Supreme Court justices who had the wisdom and fortitude to make history today. And congratulations to America, a country that has proven today it still holds dear the idea of freedom on which it was founded.
We have put another shameful period of our history in the rear view mirror. Let us keep it in sight to remember how far we’ve come, while always looking to improve our future.
And let’s make sure love always wins in the end.