Five years have passed since Obergefell v. Hodges, making same-sex marriage the law of the land. However, there is some resistance to the idea of changing the traditional family standard, and we still see negativity towards equal marriage. The road to equal marriage has been a challenging one but today everyone can get married and has the same rights. However, we’ve recently taken notice to the idea that LGBTQ rights may be at risk yet again thanks to a possible SCOTUS nomination by our favorite president (JOKING). So, as an LGBTQ owned and operated business that regularly contributes to our chosen families in the Berkshire region, we thought that part of this week’s blog should include a slice of history when it comes to our rights.
History:
One positive thing is that the country has changed since the first attempt to get recognition from the law in 1972, with Loving vs. Virginia. When the Supreme Court dismissed the claim because of the idea that people of the same sex might have a constitutional right to get married, was absurd, to say the least. Maryland followed and decided to ban gay marriage in 1973 after the court ruling, multiple attempts from gay couples to get marriage licenses happened. In the late 1980s, activists debated whether marriage rights should be at the forefront of the broader campaign for LGBT equality. In 1993, the Supreme Court in Hawaii ruled that denying same-sex marriage violated the Constitution, and then in 1996, a judge in Hawaii defended the right of same-sex marriage. Why? Because not doing so contradicts the 14th Amendment. Then, President Bill Clinton signed the federal Defense of Marriage Act in 1998, this law defined marriage as a relationship between one man and one woman, for the purpose of excluding same-sex couples from the institution of marriage.
Then in 2004, Massachusetts became the first state in the Nation to legalize same sex marriage. The city of San Francisco began marrying same-sex couples in an open challenge to California’s law, and New Mexico begins issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples as their law did not mention gender. Portland, Oregon also begins issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. And, in 2015, the Supreme Court issued the landmark decision that stands today, where everyone can get married without discrimination. As former Supreme Court Justice, Anthony Kennedy declared:
"No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were. As some of the petitioners in these cases demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death. It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves. Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization’s oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right. The judgment of the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit is reversed. It is so ordered."
At Only In My Dreams Events we recognize how important LGBTQ rights are, and we realize how much joy and happiness our community has brought to the Berkshires and the US at large. Every year we donate to local causes that support LGBTQ youth. We put on a huge dance party and drag pageant at the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield. And we even opened a shop that features a wide variety of gay pride paraphernalia! We know how important these rights are. We see them and feel them every day. We hope that, if this nomination holds and we see a new justice appointed, that our rights won’t be at risk… We will do everything that we can to keep marriage equality and Gay Rights apart of the US constitution, and we hope that you all will do the same. Thank you.
