Where were you on Wednesday when you found out DOMA was overturned?

I was at work, obsessively checking facebook on my phone.

Suzie was in the Moscow airport, en route to Israel for the summer. In Russia they passed a law a few days ago making it illegal to mention the existence of homosexuality in a setting where minors might be present. I worry about her when she travels. She’s very obviously genderqueer, and I wish I could protect her from all the evils of the world.

I saw a friend post the DOMA ruling, and I gasped. My coworker looked at me, confused. “What?” she asked.

“It was overturned!”

“Huh?”

“DOMA!”

“Oh. Politics.” She rolled her eyes.

 

Last weekend, before Suzie flew out of JFK airport, we decided to go on a date in New York. On Saturday night we strolled around the West Village, enjoying the summer weather. It was so pleasant—there was a warm breeze, and people were hanging out in parks and on street corners. All the passersby were in a good mood, and rainbow flags were everywhere. Gay Pride is coming up.

We turned a corner, and the mood was shattered by a giant set of flood lights set up near a police car. There were several police officers guarding the area.

“What do you think is going on?” I held tightly to Suzie’s arm.

“Oh, it’s for safety. Remember, that guy got killed last month?”

I had almost forgotten. A gay man was recently shot in the head as someone shouted homophobic slurs at him, right in front of The Stonewall Inn—arguably one of the gayest places in the country.

 

Sometimes, it’s not just politics.

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