The Supreme Court of the United States ruled Friday that all 50 states must recognize same-sex marriages. Same-sex marriage had been approved legislatively by numerous states, by Iowa’s Supreme Court, and then by several United States Circuit Courts of Appeal, which meant it was legal in all states covered by the circuit (for instance, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down an Oklahoma law banning same-sex marriage, which extended in turn to Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming). 

The date of the ruling, June 26, comes as a perfect medium between two important dates in the LGBT movement. 

It was two days before the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, considered the seminal moment in the nascent LGBT movement. 

In the wee hours of June 28, 1969, the New York Police Department raided the Stonewall Inn, one of Manhattan’s largest and best known hangouts for homosexuals and lesbians. Apparently, the riot started when men dressed as women refused to go into the restroom with female NYPD officers, who were supposed to identify that the men were men, and then they would be arrested if they indeed had male organs. 

The LGBT community had not gained much ground between the Stonewall Riots and what would become one of America’s worst hate crimes. 

On the evening of June 24, 1973, an irate patron who was refused entrance to The Upstairs lounge in New Orleans’ French Quarter (Vieux Carre for those who speak French) squirted a bottle of lighter fluid all over the stairs leading to the entrance and then ignited it. 

Nearly all of the patrons in The Upstairs were trapped in the deadly inferno. The stairs obviously were destroyed by the fire, and the windows had bars over them, preventing escape by all except the skinniest of people. 

Thirty-two people lost their lives that horrific Sunday night. Coverage outside of New Orleans was minimal to none. It rated less than two minutes on the CBS Evening News and only a few seconds on the NBC Nightly News. It rated nothing on ABC. At least CBS had a correspondent and a reporter from local affiliate WWL reporting. Newspapers across the nation reported the blaze the day after simply because it killed 32, but by the next day, it had been forgotten by the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune and other national publications. 

Nobody was charged with the arson and the 32 counts of murder. The suspect killed himself in 1974 as the coward’s way out. 

I am heterosexual. However, who am I to tell two men they can’t love one another? Or two ladies? I have seen some really beautiful movies revolving around lesbian relationships. I watched two such films in 2013, “Bloomington” and “Loving Annabelle”. 

I believe love conquers all, no matter if it’s gay, bisexual, straight, whatever. LGBT people want to be treated with dignity, the same as myself and my heterosexual friends. 

My dear friend Brittany will be marrying the love of her life, Zach Morgan in two weeks. I would love Brittany just as much if she were marrying a lady. 

I believe love should be unconditional. Liz, Brittany, Lisa, Peggy, and a lot of others accept me flaws and all. I love them flaws and all.

LOVE. CONQUERS. ALL!