This Sunday, June 26, 2016, marked the one-year anniversary of the decision on the Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court case. Now, if you don’t recognize the name, don’t worry and don’t feel bad, I had to look it up myself! But you probably do know what the case itself was about and have an idea of the impact it has had on this country.
This case and this monumental decision was something that has been a long time coming and was met around the country with both the utmost praise and also a widespread outrage.
There are few things in this country that could cause such a varied reaction, but seeing how overpowered guns are available to the masses, middle-aged white men still believe they have a say about a woman’s body, and police brutality continues to be a thing for some reason, that narrows down our list of Things Americans Get Angry About™ by quite a bit.
What else could there be to get angry about you ask? Well a lot, apparently. But this case, in particular, was about marriage rights, and who can get married. Up until this day and this decision it was possible in certain circumstances for people to marry animals and inanimate objects, yet some people were refused the right to marry the human being that they are in love with.
The Obergefell v. Hodges decision requires all states in the United States to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. This was a massive step forward in the right direction and something that will go down in history with the likes of Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education.
While yes, this was a great thing for the United States and the LGBTQIA+ community there, we must also take a moment and realize that the world has a long way to come and simply because same-sex couples can marry everywhere in the U.S., doesn’t mean that the fight is over across the globe, or even here at home.
All across the world, people in the LGBTQIA+ community are not only discriminated against, but also in danger on a life-or-death scale. Homosexuality is punishable by law in 76 countries around the world today, and punishable by death in 12.
While we in the U.S. have been happily able to marry for a whole year now, there are places in the world where people live in fear for their lives, simply for existing. Yes, people in the U.S. can also live in fear, homophobia and transphobia is an extreme problem in this country, but for the most part, people are protected and can live without fear of the government setting up extermination camps or slaughtering families.
The fight is far from over, and it’s important to remember this during Pride Month of all times. It’s a good time to reflect on how far we’ve come, but also a time to set goals for where we will go in the future.
So please, protect one another and push for a better tomorrow, because until people are safe across the globe, #LoveWins will be just another first-world victory that loses sight of the global scale once the problem is solved in the United States.
