Today is a good day, because #LoveWins

[annathepiper]

I gotta admit, I was dubious about the Supreme Court taking on the question of same-sex marriage. But as the news exploding around the Internet today has proclaimed, same-sex marriage is now the law of the land. All fifty states.

A Good Day

The BBC’s article I link to mentions cranky anti-gay-marriage advocates who assert that this ruling, quote, “ignores the voices of thousands of Americans”, unquote. To those folks I say: y’know what? If you don’t like same-sex marriage, don’t have one. But realize this: just because your particular flavor of religion says same-sex marriage is icky–or maybe it’s not even a question of religion for you? Maybe you just think same-sex marriage is icky in general–that doesn’t mean you get to dictate what other people do with their marriages. The Supreme Court now says so.

And just because they’ve issued a ruling that you don’t agree with doesn’t mean it’s “tyranny”, either. Nobody’s going to come and make you get married to a queer person. Nobody’s going to come and wreck your marriage now that people of the same gender can legally get married from coast to coast. (Though to be blunt, if your marriage is so shaky that it’s threatened by the prospect of complete strangers of the same gender getting married, you need to go get marital counseling. Seriously.) And nobody’s going to come and tell you you have to raise your children to believe that same-sex marriage is okay (although news flash: your kids are going to have brains and opinions of their own, and some of them are also going to be queer, and you’re going to need to learn how to cope if they wind up disagreeing with you too).

Look, I get it. I come out of a Southern Baptist background myself. In my adolescence I was twitchy about queer people. But y’know what happened once I got to college, and then moved out to the West Coast? I met some actual queer people. I saw that at the end of the day, they’re people just like anybody else, who want to live their lives in peace, go about their daily business, do their jobs, feed their pets, and in general just be people. That went a long way towards making me think that maybe I was wrong to be twitchy, and that’s even before I realized I am in fact bisexual.

Before I learned that love can have many faces and colors and shapes and sizes, and that it’s not fair or just to say that only one kind of love is ever true or proper.

Today, I feel like that for once, maybe, just maybe, people who love like me and my wife have had our right to exist validated. That it is, in fact, okay for us to love one another.

This is What Love Looks Like

Love is not a zero-sum game. Marriage is not a zero-sum game. There’s plenty of each to go around for all.

Today, #LoveWins.

Mirrored from angelahighland.com.

Comments

[mmegaera]

My grin's so big it hurts, because I have rather a lot of friends like you, and I want all of you to have equal rights, thank you very much.

People are just people, people!

[framlingem.livejournal.com]

I've been sitting here for an hour just looking at photos and reading articles (and the #lovewins hashtag), with eyes full of happy tears. Congratulations.

[annathepiper]

Thank you! :)

[tiggymalvern.livejournal.com]

Today is a huge step forward.

Now that gay people will be able to marry in all 50 states, we just need to fix the problem that in 28 of those states, being seen to be gay could get them fired. Onward we go!

[annathepiper]

Yeah--I've seen people pointing out quite correctly that while this IS awesome, we can't stop being vigilant. There are many more injustices that need writing, for QUILTBAG folk of all stripes.

yes!

[howlin' hobbit (from livejournal.com)]

beautifully spoken Ms Anna.

I am someone who even sensible people might consider to be a conservative* (and also a recovering Southern Baptist btw), and I am rejoicing because the law of the land has finally gotten out of the way of our constitutional right to pursue happiness. (well, at least on this subject.)

as a professional musician it has been my pleasure to perform at a number of "gay weddings" (and boy am I ever hoping that term falls out of use in favor of just "weddings") since Washington state finally woke the hell up on the issue.

one of the first was for two guys who had been a loving, committed couple for forty years before they were at last allowed to stand in front of their friends and other loved ones to declare that love publicly. I barely knew them and it made me cry. (yeah haters, go ahead and take away my "man card.") any time that love wins it's a victory for everybody, whether they want to admit it or not.

there are certainly things that still need work, but it's lovely to be able to pause, however briefly, and bask in a bit of joy.

*please folks, do not mistake "conservative" for the abominable "neo-conservative movement"

[janne.livejournal.com]

Congratulations :)

[annathepiper]

Thank you! :)

[deneethe.livejournal.com]

Guys, "Love" didn't win, what actually happened is that the judicial branch acting unconstitutionally created a new law, bypassing the congress. The whole gay movement was co-opted as a smoke screen to hide what really happened when this politically appointed court set this precedent...now the courts can create law with out them being legislated & enacted by congress. Scotus is only supposed to rule on the constitutionality of existing legislation. This effectively destroys the separation of powers and violates our constitution and endangers our republic. Think about it...