Over the past 40 years same sex marriage has been a long, hard-fought battle. On June 26, 2015, the United States Supreme Court legalized marriage nationwide between people of the same sex.

Lawrence Keller, an English teacher at LT, was unfortunately away on vacation during the legalization.

“I really would have liked to be a part of the celebration during Gay Pride,” Keller said. “I was so moved by so many friends on social media who were happy for me, for us.”

In the five to four ruling, Justice Anthony Kenned wrote the opinion for the majority of the votes. According to the Los Angeles Times, couples all over the LA area have been saying, “I do” with the same words he spoke during the case.

Before the legalization, same sex couples struggled with everyday experiences.

“The simple act of filing a joint tax return was quite complicated before this,” Keller said. “Since this ruling, it’s been a joy to hear other gay men and women refer to their partners as husbands and wives.”

Even in recent times, some people of the United States have had a hard time adjusting to this new law. In Kentucky, a county clerk refused to give marriage licenses to a same-sex couple because of her religious beliefs.

“Marriage equality becoming the law of the land takes one issue off our plate,” PRISM club advisor, Maria Rohloff said. “We still are fighting for equal rights in the workplace, housing, and public eye.”

In some countries, being gay can be a crime punishable by death in some cases. In Yemen, a man attracted to the same sex can be stoned to death. In less severe cases, men are whipped or subjected to a year in prison.

Marriage legalization is a big step in opening opportunities for the LGBT community to keep moving forward.

“One of the greatest things about teaching is to see how young people are really ahead of the curve on this,” Keller said. “It’s great to see that so many students are so not only accepting but welcoming of LGBT people.”