History Has Been Made! Thank you, America!

Today, the Supreme Court just changed my life. Literally.

I woke up early, fired up the SCOTUS blog, and sat with bated breath all morning long. It felt like I was waiting for my own child to be born.

Then, it finally happened. The opinion was read, and I knew in that moment, that my life was changed forever. SCOTUS sided with Obergefell, and they changed my life. Literally.

Growing up as a gay kid in the South, I never dreamed that this day would actually come in my lifetime. I remember being about 12 or 13 years old and daydreaming about living in a land where being gay was not socially unacceptable, and how wonderful that must feel. I remember reading stories about ancient cultures in which homosexuality was not looked down upon and wondering how amazing that would be to experience. Today, I feel like I stepped out of the daydream and into reality.

Furthermore, I never would have dreamed I would actually be able to marry someone that I love. Growing up, I assumed the only way I'd actually ever experience a wedding day is to either stay in the closet and marry a woman, or have a ceremony that wasn't legally binding. It was a feeling of being "less than." It was like the entire country said, "Yeah, you can live here. But, you're still not exactly as good as us. You're a second class citizen."

But, that all changed today. Marriage is now a possibility for me. It's something that I can do whenever I want to (well, as long as my partner wants to, as well). But, we now - for the first time in the history of this nation - have the freedom to choose to do so, and that is monumental.

Now, there are plenty out there in the country right now lamenting what just happened. There is even a preacher that is threatening to set himself on fire because of this decision. To them, I simply liken to the people who lamented desegregation after SCOTUS made their decision then, as well. They will eventually die out and grow quiet, but it may take a while for that to happen. Some will surely go down swinging. Hopefully, though, things don't turn violent.

But even with all of the negatives that come with this decision, it still can't stop me from feeling the immense amount of joy I feel at this moment. Today, history was made and I was lucky enough to watch it happen. We witnessed one of the biggest victories for civil rights that we, in my generation, have ever seen.

Now it is time for celebration. I think it's extra special that this happened in June, which is the recognized Pride Month, but even more special that it happened on the anniversary of SCOTUS knocking down DOMA last year and the sodomy laws ten years prior.

America, today you told us that you view us as equals. Today, you told us that you are accepting our relationships, and that you are accepting who we are as people. Today, you told millions of people that they were loved and that they belonged. Sure, we still have a lot of things to fix in this country, but today you made a move in the right direction, and for that, we thank you.

This decision has refreshed within me a sense of patriotism. In the last few years, we've faced so many negatives in this country that it has made people feel like freedom was something this country was losing. But, today I feel a renewed sense of that freedom. I feel like the spirit of our forefathers was just let loose on this country and washed over all of us!

So with that, I will celebrate.

Thank you, Supreme Court.

Thank you, America.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

This post was originally from Brandon's website, TheGayChristian.com. Brandon is the author of the new book, Straight-Face, which chronicles the psychological, deeply emotional, and spiritual aspects of his incredible journey from Southern Baptist minister to out-and-proud gay man. You can find Straight-Face on Amazon.