This celebration is possible because of the courage, love, and persistence of queer elders who came before us. Those who lived authentically when it was dangerous to do so, who loved openly and secretly, who organized, protested, nurtured community, and imagined futures they might never see. We carry their stories with us. We honor the joy and the grief, the bravery and the tenderness, and the courage that widened the path we now walk.

We also recognize that the future of gay marriage is not guaranteed. In these uncertain times, we hold the legality of our marriage close, aware of its fragility, grateful for its protection, and standing beside those who are still fighting to keep our love recognized. We hold grounded in the words and the spirit of the Supreme Court’s 2015 majority decision, legalizing marriage equality nationwide, a statement that affirmed our rights and desires of a legally-recognized marital union: 

​

“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.”