There was a time when I thought marriage rights were not my issue. I am a heterosexual man, who grew up in San Francisco with acceptance of all people. I was neither for nor against marriage rights.
In 2006, I was standing next to my now wife at the wonderful home of my friend Cabell Chinnis. I remember listening to a gay couple, who wanted the same rights that I took for granted. The ability to marry the person next to me.
This couple helped me understand that this was not a gay rights issue, but a human rights issue. I lost track of that couple, but my wife and I have been married for more than 15 years now. A wonderful thing.
My Mintz partner Bill Weld was quicker on the uptake. As Governor of Massachusetts in 1992(!), Governor Weld became the first governor to recognize same-sex couples. This was brave. He was heckled at his own party's national convention that year in Houston.
Now, 7 in 10 Americans call themselves supporters of marriage equality, according to data from Gallup.
As Governor Weld says in the linked article, "America is a forward-looking country."
We have made progress, but we have to keep working hard for the rights of all humans; not just those of us in the majority.
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