It was a morning I will never forget and one of the most significant moments in LGBT history. Many said it would never come in their lifetime, but on Friday, June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of marriage equality. 

Not having equal rights can take a huge toll on a community or individual, from mental health problems to poor behavioral patterns, the path to healing the ailments left by a history of discrimination is a very long journey. To this day, we still see the after effects of once enforced laws that have allowed discrimination on the basis of gender, race, and class – most that have been long since removed. 

Finally, gay and lesbian couples have no lesser rights in regards to love. In all 50 states anyone may marry the person that he or she loves. 

At 5:30 p.m. on June 26, 2015, the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada (The Center) held a decision day rally that brought a large group of LGBT community members together to celebrate this historic moment. The community cheered, danced, and celebrated as a group. The Center was filled with families and friends, non-profit organizations and community leaders who gathered in celebration of marriage equality.  

Since the ruling, I have seen some very disturbing posts on social media from people who do not support it. Many religious individuals have posted that marriage should be exclusively between a man and a woman. It is unfortunate that we insist on putting each other in categories instead of seeing each individual as a human being. Love has no boundaries.

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As a child I remember discovering my sexuality and crying to God, “Why did you do this to me?” There was nobody that I felt safe discussing my feelings with. I knew my family’s stance on homosexuality and feared the consequences. I continued to live with these feelings bottled up inside through junior high and high school. It was a secret that would eat away at my soul. 

Over the years I would become involved in various Christian-based religions to try and cure myself of my homosexuality. My high school friend Nichole Nalder even had an entire church try and save me with prayer, placing their hands over my body in worship. I would get in touch with the Mormon church in my community in hopes that they could “cure me” of what I thought could be cured. 

I would eventually come out to my family and was put through various attempts to “fix” me. I have had holy water doused on my body, been sent to psychiatrists, and was eventually disowned. The mental effects of these experiences brought me to some of the lowest points in my life, where I hurt myself and even attempted suicide. 

Life is the ultimate classroom, and our teachers have yet to define all the answers. Despite my difficulty in dealing with my sexual orientation, I now live my life in happiness and bliss. I have learned to fully love and accept myself and now my entire family has a new relationship with God, allowing them to fully accept me and my partner of five years. Please know that even when things look impossible, there is still hope. Never give up.

Being gay is not easy. It is not a choice. It is not “curable.” It is part of what makes every gay person a person. Even with marriage equality, being gay is still a difficult journey, due largely in part to those who decide to judge you based on their religion and make the choice to limit you from participating in those beliefs because of something you cannot change. 

I hope sharing my experiences can open up some minds to understanding that being gay is not a choice, and that being able to marry the one you love, regardless of gender, should not be anyone else’s choice to make.