Sydney Gard

Several hours before the Supreme Court decision to legalize gay marriage across America was announced, I tossed and turned. I laid awake in bed and stared at the ceiling. I read a book and endlessly refreshed Twitter. Finally, around 6 am, I fell into a deep stupor, unaware of what would meet me when I woke up around three hours later.

June 26 was a little less than one month after my back surgery, so I was still on a few pretty strong prescription pain medications, and I had only gotten a few hours of sleep. These less-than-ideal conditions made me fairly loopy when I woke up: as soon as I saw the first news about the decision, I burst into happy tears.

I was met with rainbows. So many rainbows. I saw pictures of couples finally getting legally married and rejoicing on the steps of the Supreme Court. My friends and family who agree with my liberal views showed their support on social media. I continued smiling for the next few hours and proceeded to paint my nails with an array of rainbow stripes.

I know the LGBT+ community still faces a seemingly endless number of challenges. Transgender people can legally be fired from their jobs simply because they’re trans. In some states, businesses can deny LGBT+ people service simply because of their sexual orientations. People like Kentucky’s Kim Davis still garner support for breaking the law.

Trenna Soderling

The first time I heard “Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve,” I was confused. I was even more confused that I had heard it from my then-best-friend. My second grade mind didn’t understand that generally kind people can have polarizing and unaccepting opinions.

Because I grew up in Lawrence with fairly liberal parents, was involved in theater from a young age and went to an extremely welcoming church, acceptance was in my upbringing.

Unfortunately, with age, I’ve become more aware of the many negative opinions the world presents us with on a day-to-day basis. However, much like second grade me, I still don’t understand why topics such as gay rights incite so much fear and hate in people.

I believe a large portion of the populations of America, Lawrence and even Free State will be on the wrong side of history. Restricting someone else’s life because they are gay is like restricting someone’s life because of their skin tone. Both are non-harmful or intrusive characteristics of the person in question. Despite these facts, we still have a mass of unchecked discrimination in our society.

These examples demonstrate that there is negativity and a lack of equality. However, the growing acceptance and positivity our society has seen recently is not something to be overlooked. One positive change was the Marriage Equality Act, marking a huge transition for how LGBT+ people are treated by the legal system in our country.

Like the Supreme Court did on June 26th, 2015, we as people should strive to occasionally take a step back and examine the ideas that govern our thoughts. Although it’s impossible for the human race to expel bigotry, change can be made, one equal person at a time.