It Is So Ordered

On Friday, June 26, 2015, I was sitting in a meeting of mostly women when the news came through about the Supreme Court’s decision for marriage equality. In this group, there was a lot of cheering and even some tears. This was a welcome step for our nation.

I know that the last paragraph of Justice Kennedy’s written ruling has been plastered everywhere but I thought I would put it here again. The words are profound and bear repeating.

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.

Justice Anthony Kennedy

The debate rages on.

Lots of celebrating and lots of negativity still abounds.

Debates like this have split our country apart from time to time. Slavery and the women’s right to vote are two that come to mind. Both were powerful movements in our country as I believe marriage equality will be.

There are people who spew hate over this topic and to those, I want to say, isn’t it time to put the hate away. People deserve love. We may not agree with others but this thing that makes our country great is that we all have the right to think and feel how we want to. We will never agree on everything but can we at least respect people’s rights to make their own decisions?

Isn’t it time to put aside this animosity and seek out what makes us alike? Isn’t it time to look at ourselves and say “how am I promoting hate?” Love has to win, otherwise none of this makes sense.

It is so ordered.