On June 24th, 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States declared that marriage equality was to become legalized in the USA. The Landmark Decision, which just so happened to occur in the midst of Pride Month, was a major victory for LGBT men and women everywhere. Many things have happened over the year since marriage equality. Sadly, however, some people think the fight for LGBT rights is over. This could not be further from the truth. When it comes to full equality for people in all areas of the sexuality and gender spectra, marriage equality was only the tip of the iceberg. So why do we have people who believe the fight is over?
For so long, the pinnacle of the LGBT social justice focus was gay marriage. The biggest fight was an effort to be recognized by the government in the same regard in which a heterosexual couple can be. In fighting for this, however, many more problems have emerged. While trans men and women have felt more inclined to come out and begin the transition, society has further pushed back with violence towards trans people, and laws born from misunderstanding, such as North Carolina's HB2 bill. We have uncovered discrimination under the disguise of religious liberty. Marriage equality, while important, was only the beginning.
In the year since Obergefell v. Hodges, 450 LGBT elected officials serve in the US government. The public has become increasingly more welcoming of trans identities. Despite some vicious attempts, laws that would allow religious freedom to discriminate against LGBT men and women have not made it past many local governments.
In the year since Obergefell v. Hodges, politicians have become outspoken against the Supreme Court ruling, with people such as Ted Cruz wanting to overturn the decision altogether and allow the states to decide. Violence against LGBT men and women continues. Laws such has HB2 have brought misunderstanding of trans men and women to a political level. In response to the Pulse terrorist shooting in Orlando, Florida, there are still men and women who brush off the casualties because the attack was in a gay bar.
If you are someone who believes that the LGBT rights movement has run its course, I urge you to reconsider.
While there have been many victories for equality in the last year, we still have much to fight for. We need to fight for a mutual understanding of transgender identities. We need to fight efforts for legal discrimination against LGBT men and women. We need to inform the public about the dangers of conversion therapies and facilitate an environment where children are not afraid to come out.
Obergefell v. Hodges was not the end of our fight, but it signifies a huge step towards success. While it is important to celebrate our accomplishments towards equality, it is important to remember what we still have to accomplish.
