But we've won the right to dream.
It's still illegal to be gay in 78 countries. In 8 countries it can get you killed legally, and in countless more extralegally. 37 states still outlaw gay marriage. 29 states still don't protect gay people's jobs or housing. Schoolchildren still bully, churches still shame, families still disown.
But today, like so many other wonderful days over the last couple years, we've had our rights expanded, our dignity recognized, our humanity affirmed just a bit more.
We have a president who finally recognizes our right to happiness.
We have an army that finally only cares if you can shoot straight.
We have a citizenry finally coming around, and a generation of young people who have come around in full force.
We have almost 100 million people living in states that allow equal marriage, with more on the way.
And today, we have a nation, the beacon of democracy, the city upon a hill, that can finally be as a city upon a hill for gay people the world 'round. Our federal government can finally say consistently, without hypocrisy: You are human. You have feelings. You deserve dignity. You deserve respect.
As a child in this country, even in the progressive and cynical '90s, you have a lot of dreams about marriage and families. It's in the Disney movies, on TV, and at least for a suburban kid like me, in real life all around you.
I think few people would say that real marriages are ever fairy tales, or that it's easy (or even assured) to find the love of one's life and make a perfect family with them. Some gay people even question the pursuit of gay marriage — do we really want to be boxed into heternormative conformity?
But I think a lot of us still dream. Dream of finding that love, and committing to it, and making a life with that person. And having society bless that relationship, and welcome our family into the larger family of humanity.
It's startling to realize that as few as ten years ago, this dream was universally condemned, or ignored, or at best cordoned off into sanitized "civil unions" and "domestic partnerships."You can sort of have your dream," society told us, "but don't talk about it too much, and don't pretend that it's as valid as normal people's dreams."
Not anymore. Today, that dream has won. Maybe not everywhere. But it's only a matter of time. There will be another court case, another bit of legislation, maybe some day a constitutional amendment. The road is wide open.
We have not won gay rights today. We still have a long way to go.
But today, we can dream. And today, that dream is a little more real.
