Why Marriage Equality Matters

This past Friday's Supreme Court decision to legalize same-sex marriage throughout the whole of the United States may very well be looked at historically as one of the most significant decisions to come out of the high court. Here's why:

In 2015, it's strange to think that it wasn't so long ago in our history that a Caucasian and an African American couldn't legally get married in some parts of the country. It was only in 1967 that the Supreme Court made one of their most important rulings - Loving v. Virginia - declaring that an American's race can't bar them from their Constitutionally guaranteed rights.

As a citizen of the United States of America, we enjoy rights that many people don't get to experience worldwide; free speech, freedom of religion, and many other freedoms that when all put together, are unique to us as Americans.

So why should all of this matter to us and how does it involve marriage equality?

Think about your family and friends. People who you love very much and only want the best for. You want them to experience the happiness, companionship, and everything else that comes along with finding someone to love and go through life together with.

Now, imagine if the government that is meant to protect the rights of all of us, told that person that, while they're an American just like everyone else, they're not allowed to enjoy the things that other Americans are.

How would that make you feel?

That was the situation in nearly a third of the country before last Friday.

So why does marriage equality matter? Because we all matter. As Americans, we all matter the same as every other American.