On June 26th of this year, gay marriage became legal in all 50 states. That’s right, you read that right; every single state. So even if you live in Mississippi, you can still marry your partner. Happily ever after, right? Homophobia died on the same day that same-sex marriage became legal, right?
Of course not. In fact there are multiple county clerks around the country resigning and otherwise protesting the changes made based on their religious convictions. It is shocking that anyone in this day and age would bring their religion into a civil matter? Not really, because they do so every single day.
This is the reason why gay pride parades exist. Not necessarily because people are showing off how proud they are to be homosexual, but rather that they are fighting for the basic right of celebration and enjoyment that everyone else enjoys. No one thinks twice about a heterosexual romance movie, but sparks fly when the two love interests are of the same sex. It’s this odd taboo that we still have in this country.
Let’s be clear about something: gay marriage is legal, but that doesn’t mean that the fight is over. Many of you are reading this while still in high school or college. So marriage might not be on the horizon, and that’s okay. Just because you can now go to the courthouse and get married doesn’t mean that you have to go out and do so. There will always be a segment of the gay community that doesn’t marry, for its own reasons. Some people feel that they don’t need legal marriage in order to have the partnership they want. Other people feel that it’s critical they get married.
Remember that there’s work to do, but make sure that you also take time to enjoy yourself. If you’re not part of a gay straight alliance, this is the time to get into one. The conversation is already going strong nationally, with more people coming out in support of marriage equality.
Don’t let the people that are against marriage quality stress you out. Over one million people per hour decided to change their profile pictures to a rainbow filter on Facebook. It’s a powerful act that does deserve our respect. These people changed their profile even when their friends and family thought it was wrong.
Many companies came out in support of marriage equality as well, but that doesn’t mean everything is going smoothly in Corporate America either. There are still plenty of underhanded discrimination tactics going on, where people use old attitudes to cover up their distaste for homosexuals.
That’s why we’re going to keep reporting and speaking out here. No matter which way you look at it, the fight still isn’t over. One day, we hope it will be.
