So, surprising nobody, I haven't been very good about the promised flash posts. In my defense, though, I have a really great excuse. More on that later.
I really, really wanted to get the chance to post about this earlier, since it is kind of a Big Deal. I didn't end up having the time, but Owl covered it quite well a few days ago. Nevertheless, I did want to add a post of my own on the subject, however cursory, since I am overjoyed by this news.
Last Friday, SCOTUS ruled that it was unconstitutional to ban same-sex marriage. Which means, in all 50 states (and I believe US territories?) gay marriage is now legal. This has very little direct, practical impact on me at the moment, though it certainly affects me in the broader scheme of things. Despite it not immediately changing anything for me, I still had an intensely and deeply personal emotional response to the ruling. In fact, it impacted me on a much greater level han I was anticipating. I knew it would certainly make me happy, and I would be relieved.
I didn't expect to nearly break into tears when a very excited Target employee told me, later that day while I was shopping, that the endcap display of Pride merchandise she was just putting up was only a small selection, and that there was more in the back with the rest of the clothes, and wasn't today just wonderful? But there I was, staring at a parade of rainbow tank tops and beach blankets, shirts that proclaimed that "love is love" and called for equality and tolernace, and choking up as the full importance of the ruling finally hit me.
Here's the thing: I know the fight is far from over. It's not over for gays and lesbians, and its only just beginning for the trans community. The queer community still has a long, loooong way to go until our battles, all of them, are finally won. And I do think, eventually, we will win them. I think eventually, no business across the country will be able to fire a gay man. Nobody will be able to stop a lesbian couple from renting an apartment. Trans and non-binary individuals will no longer have to fear for their safety when using a public restroom that aligns with their gender identity and presentation. Asexual and aromantic youths won't have to feel isolated, alone, and alien when they search for people like them in popular media, because they will no longer be invisible. The queer community has so many important and valiant issues to fight for and such a long way to go before we can rest easy. Gay marriage is not the end all be all of our fight, nor do I even think it is the most importnat step.
But it is stilll a very important step. Not only does love win, as the popular slogan goes, but now, same-sex couples are offered the same opporunities as heterosexual couples in terms of the rights and benefits that go along with marriage. Visitation rights, adoption, power of attorney. It isn't all just about the big romantic gestures and the happily ever afters. It's about being able to enter into the same partnership heterosexual couples have been entering into for thousands of years, and have it be seen as equal in the eyes of the law. And that is a major, major step in the right direction.
More than that, this represents a trenemdous change in public opinion. In the US, the approval rating in favor of equal rights for the LGBT community is the highest it's ever been. In most civilized parts of the US (politics very much exclued from the qualifier "civilized") it is no longer acceptable to be openly, or at least aggressively, homophobic without major backlash. And for the first time, we are even starting to talk openly about gender identity. Thanks to the public transition of Caitlyn Jenner and the recognition of Laverne Cox, the issue is (slowly and with no small amount of resistance) being brough to the table for discussion. The push for greater tolernace for the LGBT community is gaining more and more momentum. And when we look at where we've gotten, from the decriminlization of sodomy in the US to the Stonewall riots to the repeal of DOMA, from allowing sex change operations to putting trans characters on television and magazine covers, from the first gay pride parade to a gay neighborhood in almost every major city, from the first overruling of a same-sex marriage ban, eleven years ago in Owl's homestate to now, where every state (even those trying their damndest to get out of it) is obligated to allow same-sex marriage, we have come a long, long way in a relatively short time.
We can't stop now. There is so much left to do. But I am so, so proud of my nation and of the queer community and all its allies. I am honored to have been a part of this historic movement and to continue being a part of it. And I am no longer fearful, but excited and hopeful, for the future.
I hope you all will join me in looking forward, and in celebrating what we have already accomplished.
**I apologize for any typos, misspellings, lack of citations, or factual errors. I am typing this quickly and with limited Internet access and no spell check---bad for dyslexia!
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