Rainbows Save the Day

I came out as a lesbian in early 1985.  When I say came out, I mean I fell in love with a woman and acknowledged that I identified as a homosexual.  Those early days we shared this information with very few friends and even fewer family members.  As our relationship became more known we were disowned by family members and had our lives threatened by those who did not accept us.

In time we moved to a large urban area and began being more open with those close to us.  We joined Queer Nation, Act Up, and the Pride Committee.  We protested and walked in Pride Parades proclaiming, "We're here, We're Queer, Get Use To It!"  We watched our friends die from AIDS and made quilt blocks to commemorate our fallen brothers.

More people knew about our relationship and slowly more people accepted us.  Our families started to bend and recognize that this was not just a phase.  We saw the world changing and slowly we began to hope.  Hope that one day our lives would be common place and mundane.  We hoped, but I never thought this day would come.  The day our government actually said we deserved "equal dignity."  Today DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) was overturned by the highest court in the land, the Supreme Court.  The federal government is finally on our side.  A great rainbow shone over our land.

I am reminded of one of my favorite bible stories.  The story of Noah and his ark full of animals saved from the great flood..  A rainbow appears as a promise and the book of Genesis says, "I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud... "  My friends the marriage war is not over.  Cloudy days may come, but that rainbow will be there and my government has made a covenant to treat same sex couples with "equal dignity."  My world just got brighter.