Marriage equality receives support during traditional marriage ceremonies

Lasty weekend I attended my niece's marriage in Napa. During the dinner following the (traditional) wedding ceremony the couple circulated a framed document the content of which expressed strong support for marriage equality. I experienced an emotional response to their sympathetic gesture. While having been involved in a happy traditional marriage for 35 years, my wife and I have recognized the struggle, despair, bias and condemnation same-sex couples have had to endure over time. All of us have friends and family members impacted by ugly and hostile expressions from, essentially insecure, people when they find out they are gay. This simple gesture gave us hope that we are finally getting somewhere.

This is what was circulated:

"We felt that the timeliness of this historic event needed to be shared with our loved ones on our historic night. As we raise our glasses to celebrate our commitment to each other, we also celebrate our strong belief that the love between any two people should never be questioned nor should the right to marry have ever been restricted." Signed - Michael and Nancy

The statement continues with the following quote:

"No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highesty 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. The judgment of the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit is reversed."  Signed - Justice Anthony Kennedy