Tears are running down my face and I feel so filled with joy that I could explode. Today, any person in the LGBT community in the United States of America is free to marry whomever they want. Today, hundreds of thousands of children are now recognized as having both of their parents as their legal guardians. Families around the country will now be considered equal in the eyes of the law.
Before I knew the word gay, I knew that my brother was. Anyone who doesn’t believe that people are born gay, have never grown up with a gay sibling. Having a gay sibling often means that you see it first hand and you know it to be fact. Being raised Catholic meant that I heard a lot of confusing and conflicting information regarding the LGBT community. One part of the bible consistently stood out to me more than the others: “I am my brother’s keeper”. I decided that this would be the lesson that I would take away from the church.
I know that my place has always been between my brother and anyone who would wish him harm or try to deny him his rights as a person. Don’t get me wrong, he doesn’t need anyone to fight his battles for him; however, I will always be there fighting beside him.
Today is a day that so many have been fighting for and victory has never felt better. Today we cry, we rejoice, we smile, we celebrate but tomorrow we will continue the fight. Marriage equality is an important and necessary step in the fight towards equality in our county but it is not the last step. 2015 has been a groundbreaking year in the fight for LGBT equality but there is still much more to do. As a nation, we need to end adoption discrimination towards those in the LGBT community. There is still so much we must do to combat the crisis of LGBT youth suicide and homelessness. The list of transgender people who have been murdered this year continues to grow at an alarming rate. Violence towards those in the LGBT community still exists. Discrimination towards those in the LGBT community still exists.
Today I am celebrating with my brother, our family, and friends because this is an important victory; but tomorrow we continue the fight for full equality for all people across our nation and the world.
