Today the California Supreme Court is hearing arguments on whether or not Proposition 8 (which outlawed gay marriage) is a valid amendment to the state Constitution. So it’s a big day here, emotionally, though we won’t find out what the decision is for 60 days. So, today, I wanted to take a moment to think about why the personal is political. Gay marriage sometimes seems like a big powerful Concept. It’s something you are FOR or AGAINST. And the problem with that, is it hides the everyday tangible reality of what same sex marriage means. In the end this issue is about people we love being legally allowed to love each other, in the same way that mixed gender couples do. It’s small, it’s simple, it’s personal, it’s tangible, it’s real. Over the past year, the the love and dignity that same sex couples have brought to marriage in my native state is part of what makes me know for sure that marriage is something that I deeply believe in and want to be part of.
So a toast for today: to all of the brave men and women who stood up and said I am here, I will be heard, I will be who I was made to be. Your love inspires me and enriches the institution of marriage. May we one day soon see a day where marriage is recognized as a universal human right across our nation.
I invite each of you to do something small today: if there is someone in your life who is on the fence about same sex marriage, drop them and email, give them a call, open up a dialogue. This issue is about hearts – the hearts of people who love each other, the hearts of those of us who love them, and the hearts that need to be opened one by one by one by one. Start here. Start now. Start today.
“The arc of history is long, but it bends towards justice.” – Martin Luther King
