A reader dug up an old speech (start 2:50 in if you’re interested) from one of countless talks I gave in the 1990s. Money quote from yours truly in 1997:
“The question that I ask myself is not why is this subject now being raised with respect to homosexuality… The real question is: why has it taken us so long to reach the central and most relevant institution with regard to sexual orientation?”
Another writes:
My son and I visited Christopher Street Day in Berlin today [Saturday], proudly headed up by Berlin’s gay mayor. More than usual numbers of “I love NY” shirts today. I’m waiting to hear someone playing “First We Take Manhattan“. It wasn’t just New York’s GBLT people who became more equal yesterday; it was all 19 million residents there. Big step forward, and congratulations from Berlin.
Another:
I just graduated from Vassar. In the spring of my freshman year, I remember sitting in a dorm room with a bunch of my friends, about half of whom were gay or bi, talking about gay marriage. At the time, most of us thought that gay marriage probably wouldn’t be legal in most states for at least 15 or 20 years. I’m straight, and it seemed so insane and sad and horrifying to think that my friends, the most amazing people I had ever had the privilege of knowing, would probably not be able to legally marry the person they loved.
Since 2008, as full of ups and downs as that year was for gay rights, we’ve been growing gradually more hopeful. And now, I am confident that by the time most of my friends seriously consider marriage, they will be able to legally marry in any state they choose. The joy of that confidence is indescribable.
Another:
Last night’s victory was really incredible. You helped to start something pretty important when you started working for marriage years ago. Your post talks about why it was a “BFD”, and you stressed the role that Republicans played. If you look at the trajectory, the main story is obviously that more and more people are getting their basic rights. But we’re also moving from a situation where marriage rights were enforced by the courts to one in which they’re flowing from a broad and solid consensus among all of us.
And as more and more people can marry, the arguments against marriage collapse, because everyone can see that no one is harmed in any way. New York isn’t just NYC or Chelsea; it’s Buffalo and Albany and lots and lots of small towns. In all sorts of different kinds of places, different kinds of towns with different cultures, marriage is going to help people, and this victory is going to prove that it’s a universally good thing – that no one will be harmed by this extension of basic human rights. The victory here will deepen and strengthen the consensus in all kinds of different places, among all kinds of different people.
There are still many states left to persuade, but this is a really big win.
The Dish 