How I Feel About Marriage Equality As A Straight Woman

The union between two people who love each other can mean the world to a couple, no matter the sex of the parties involved. Today is a huge day in our history because same sex marriage has now become legal in the United States. This is a day that shows just how much we are growing as a nation. Today, the Supreme Court ruled that no state can deny the marriage of a same sex couple, making us the eighteenth nation to do so.

For a long time, I didn’t quite understand what the big deal about this was. I couldn’t grasp the idea that this wasn’t something that was always legal. It was not until my own sister came out to me as bisexual that I did more research into the matter. I was in high school when she sat me down to tell me she was bisexual, and after making a joke that if it didn’t have anything to do with me I didn’t care, I told my sister that none of that mattered to me. I loved her for whoever she was.

As I did more and more research, I learned a lot about this community and the struggles that they have had to deal with. I not only started to understand these issues my sister had constantly been fighting to make better, but I ultimately began to feel for the people who have to deal with this outdated bullshit. By educating myself on the matter, I felt more empowered and I wanted to help in whatever way I could. I started asking my sister more questions and reading more news about the issues. Although it wasn’t something that affected me personally, I still felt as if there was a part of me that was broken by the hardships of the gay community.

Being a straight woman during this time doesn’t mean that I don’t understand the huge triumph that gays have accomplished with this law being passed. I woke up to the news just as excited as I imagine many other people did today. I felt how important and historical this day would be from now on.

I never really had a strong group of girlfriends, at least until high school. But since moving to LA, I have made a very large group of lady friends who happen to mostly be gay. I also happen to love them for every aspect of their personalities and consider them to be my people in the world. Upon reading these articles, I immediately went to our group chat and told them all how extraordinarily thrilled I was for them.

It’s very hard to imagine being told no on a topic for so many years to finally being given a conclusive yes. It almost seems as if someone is playing a joke on them. But they’re not. This is real. This day changes everything for people who have been fighting for this right to do something so simple as marry the person they love.

So tonight I will celebrate with all my friends and the other happy people in Los Angeles. I will hug my sister and drunkenly tell her how much I love her a million times. I will celebrate today because the passing of this law is not only a triumph for the gay community, but it shows how far we have come as a society. It shows that change can happen if people work together and fight for what they believe in. So congratulations to everyone and lets keep moving forward.