In a historic decision, the Supreme Court of the United States of America has effectively enacted marriage equality nationwide. By a 5-4 majority, the court ruled that denying equal marriage rights to same-sex couples is a violation of the Constitution. “The Constitution promises liberty to all within its reach,” Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in the powerful first line of the decision.
The court held that the 14th Amendment requires states to license marriages between two people of the same sex and to recognize such marriages when lawfully performed in other states. “The history of marriage is one of both continuity and change,” Kennedy wrote. “The nature of marriage is that, through its enduring bond, two persons together can find other freedoms, such as expression, intimacy, and spirituality. This is true for all persons, whatever their sexual orientation.”
For millions of same-sex couples and for every American who believes in fairness and equality under the law, it is a really big deal. Marriage is a highly symbolic institution, and the attainment of marriage equality represents every facet of our nation — from our own families all the way up to the highest court in the land — explicitly embracing and even celebrating gay families just like straight families.
But it’s also much more than symbolic. There are 1,138 benefits and rights that come with marriage at the federal level alone. From Social Security inheritance to immigration status to health insurance, these are real and tangible and even life-saving factors.
As we’ve seen recently with the debate over Confederate flags, things that might seem symbolic can also have real-world consequences. And dismantling the symbols of the racist Confederacy has ramifications for dismantling other structures of racial bias and discrimination, just as winning marriage equality has ramifications for advancing gay rights more broadly. At the same time, though, this juxtaposition reveals the still yawning gulf between what we as a nation have achieved and where we have yet to go.
Same-sex couples can now legally marry in every jurisdiction in the country. And yet in 29 states, people can still be fired for their sexual orientation. In 32 states, people can be fired for their gender identity. Trans women of color still face incredibly high rates of violence, including murder.
Meanwhile, studies show straight men earn more than gay men and gay men earn more than lesbians. And given what we know about gender, race and wage gaps in general, it’s pretty safe to assume that lesbian, bisexual and transgender women of color earn less than lesbian, bisexual and transgender white women. Today we have undone a major link in the chain of discrimination based on sexual orientation, but the chain remains thick and strong and wrapped around the necks of far too many. So, today’s victory isn’t an invitation to relax but a reminder to fight on, for the unjust status quo is only toppled when enough people join together in protest. Winning today is a reminder of what we can and must win tomorrow.
Because of the Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, many more modern American families will now be included into the legal boxes of family and marriage that our laws and policies reinforce. That’s an important and invaluable start. But make no mistake about it, while this is a victory, we have not crossed the finish line. And we cannot cross the finish line of justice until we have full equality, across the board, for all people regardless of race, gender, gender identity or sexual orientation. And that means doing the still-necessary work to ensure that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people of color and low incomes and by extension all women and poor people and people of color are also being lifted up and made better as well.
As long as women of color are being paid even less on the dollar than white men and women, as long as there is domestic violence and trans violence, as long as families are being broken up by our broken immigration system, as long as black communities face disproportionate police harassment, violence and incarceration, as long as children born to one family in one part of our nation don’t have the same exact shot at reaching their full potential as a child born anywhere else in America, then we have not won yet.
So sure, everyone who wants to should get married, throw some great parties, have some drinks, dance and have a great time. Then let’s get up the next morning and keep fighting. Yes, it’s a historic and wonderful day for marriage equality. But the struggle for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights — and for human rights more broadly, for all people — continues.
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