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I don’t have much to report other than this. If you are a proponent of social equality, June 26th was the day for you.
First we remind ourselves how one woman talked for over ten hours to fight a bill that would restrict abortions and all but close down most clinics in the state. However after a debatable killing of the filibuster, a funny thing happened. Wendy Davis was joined by her Senate colleagues (including the admirable Sen. VanDePutte) and then by thousands of protestors who cheered their way through the midnight deadline.
However, that battle is still ongoing even if we won the temporary reprieve. This morning however proved that one battle that has been fought for over a decade now, might soon be coming to an end as DOMA (the Defense of Marriage Act in which the federal government only recognizes marriage as between a man and woman) was struck down by the Supreme Court. Now that does NOT legalize marriage equality in all 50 states but the federal government’s recognition of marriage equality is a huge step as it shows that discrimination will not be tolerated and constitutionally, it cannot.
Proposition 8, the law that ended same-sex marriages in California, was not struck down but declined to be heard from the Supreme Court which means that same-sex marriages may be able to resume in the nation’s largest state by next month!
Remember a Democratic President signed DOMA into law. That was what the status quo was in our country and while several Democrats were against it then, now almost all of them are today. Marriage equality moved like a lightning bolt and now if you are against it, you might be in the minority. Like I stated yesterday, it all started with one and we can’t do anything unless we are joined by all.
Today proved the inroads that the LGBT community has made but remember, marriage equality has not been legalized nationwide yet.
But that day is coming.