DOMA
"Supreme Court DOMA Decision Rules Federal Same-Sex Marriage Ban Unconstitutional"
I don't listen to or watch the news at work, so it wasn't until I got home that I heard the Supreme Court's decision on DOMA. In fact, this was the first I knew about it. I've been avoiding paying attention to the case, because I couldn't handle the anxiety. It's too important to me, and I found myself lying awake at night worrying about something I have no control over. So I deliberately tuned it all out, though I was aware that the decision would be handed down soon.
Now? Now I'm just as glad I didn't know about this at work, because I've been crying for the last half hour. Not just crying: bawling. Sobbing so hard my chest and back hurt, so hard I've got a killer headache. I can barely see to type, and I've only managed to get through a couple articles online because I can't stop scrolling back up to read the headlines again, to make sure they haven't changed. I truly and completely expected the SCOTUS to somehow, on some technicality, weasel out of making a real decision on this. We've made enough forward progress that I didn't think they would uphold DOMA, but I didn't expect anything worthwhile to come out of this. It took about ten seconds of staring at the headline and photos on Jezebel before the words could make it past the disbelief block. I think I was crying by the third picture.
I've never been so glad to need some aspirin and a glass of water. I didn't realize that joy could feel quite so much like pain. And I know there are still plenty of fights to fight (I live in Virginia; trust me, I know), but for right now, I'm going to focus on the victory. Not to mention a certain juvenile satisfaction in watching my enemies sputter and whine.
Oh, and of course Wikipedia was already updated two hours after the decision.
Some of my favorite pictures:
The lady in the purple dress? I'm pretty sure I had the same expression on my face when I looked at the first link.
This one made me laugh.
I can't figure out how to link to individual pictures here (there's a photo album a little way down) but # 21 made me start crying all over again. #23 reminds me of something a friend of mine (retired Army) once said: "I think being gay is weird, but I fought for twenty years for the right of weirdos to be weird." Oh, and I love #62. She looks like her face is about to split in half from that smile.
ETA: I sent my mother a text message, nothing but a string of exclamation points. She texted me back, "Indeed. Progress." I knew she'd know what I was thinking of.