On June 26, the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples could now legally marry nationwide. On June 26, America woke up to a more tolerant nation. On June 26, love won. This date made history; therefore, when my sister texted me in all caps “GAY MARRIAGE IS LEGAL IN EVERY STATE,” I started popping bottles of champagne and dancing around the house to Elton John’s greatest hits to celebrate what I consider to be a tremendous win for our nation, and humanity as a whole.
When I was eight years old, I learned that there were people who are attracted to members of the same sex. I remember this day vividly as my mother’s reaction to my questions has become one of her pearls of wisdom I have carried with me to this day. At lunch on this particular day, a few boys in my class made a joke about two boys liking each other, calling the boys “gay.” Until that day, I was unfamiliar with the term. Always eager and bursting with things to say, I jumped in my mom’s car after school shouting “Mom! Mom! Did you know there are boys who like boys, and girls who like girls?” I told her this as if it was the craziest thing she would ever hear, so imagine my surprise when she stared at me blankly and said, “What’s your point?” Then she asked me if I thought it was important for everyone to have a chance to be happy and, of course I said yes, but I wondered if she thought it was strange or weird. I’ll never forget her response. She looked at me and said, “Well, for some girls dating another girl makes them happy, and for some boys dating another boy makes them happy. It’s not weird because it makes them happy. It’s just different, but different does not equal bad.” From that day forward, that is how I have always treated things that are “different” from the norm. If something makes someone happy, and it does not harm themselves or others, then I completely support their right to pursue it.
Later, when I was in middle school, I learned of the issue surrounding gay marriage. People in my grade were discussing how “wrong” it is for two people of the same sex to marry. Again, I was confused. Why was this an issue? Who did this affect? Why were people so angry? So, I went straight to the Internet and I spent hours on Google researching all things concerning gay marriage. The whole experience left me frustrated with the limitations of marriage, and turned me into a huge cheerleader for the LGBT community. It just never made sense for me not to support something, which advocated for nothing but love, equality, and freedom. I mean is there anything more patriotic than those three concepts? Love, equality, and freedom, a.k.a the only things which will come out of the Supreme Court’s decision to legalize marriage for all individuals.
You don’t have to like it. You don’t have to agree with it. There are a lot of things I don’t agree with. Personally, I don’t see how Crocs are still being sold, but hey my dad wears them, and while it horrifies me on some level, I’m still going to let him do his own thing – ugly shoes and all. If it does not affect you, then it does not affect you. Let me repeat that again: if it does not affect you, it does not affect you.
Many people are anti-everything, and some people will find any excuse to rave and shout against something when the opportunity presents itself. When it comes to gay marriage, there is a lot of background noise, but the voices of brave individuals who have shared their stories and fought for their right to love freely has inevitably led our country to open itself up and change for the better.
A step towards equality and inclusion is always a step forward. Most people fighting against the recent legalization of gay marriage use religious beliefs as their reason for condemnation. However, "Orange is the New Black" pretty much summed up my feelings on the religious debate of all things when Laverne Cox said, “Tell me again how you think God will judge others for who they love, and not judge you for hating someone you’ve never met?” I think that is an important question to ask yourself every time you find yourself on the side of hatred and discrimination. You do not have to agree with gay marriage or anything related to gay rights; however, just because you do not agree with another individual’s lifestyle does not mean you have the right to limit their life.
Also, a word to the wise to people who think you can catch “the gay” as if it were some airborne disease. I have spent a fair amount of time around people who are gay, and I’m here to report that I am still daydreaming over any cute guy I meet and, yes, sadly still also fighting my urge to fall madly in love with all the emotionally unavailable buttholes out there. That’s how I was born, attracted to members of the opposite sex (douchebags, and all), just like how some people are born attracted to members of the same sex. We can’t help whom we are attracted to; it’s just how our hormones work.
Overall, I think the most important thing to remember in the midst of all the status updates, and insanely hateful tweets floating around, is that people are not one thing. People are not their sexuality, their gender, or who they choose walk down the aisle towards. People are their thoughts, ideas, and all the great stuff stored in their hearts. We are all so very different, and yet we all deserve equality under the law. When it comes down to it, everyone should have the chance to marry the person they love because love does not harm anyone or anything.
