A View Of LGBT History

June 26, 2015 will be a day long remembered in history because three landmark gay rights SCOTUS cases were decided on this day.

The day for me started with your fave blogger in the company of Nikki Araguz Loyd and Will Loyd as we headed to the Midtown area law firm of Katine and Nechman for a SCOTUS watch party.

As we arrived, we noted the TV trucks and reporters lurking around the office also anticipating the ruling and waiting for the analysis of Mitchell Katine and John Nechman when it did drop.

We didn`t have to wait long for the ruling.  A little after 9 AM Houston time it started coming over the SCOTUS feed, and it took a few moments for us to realize that not only was this a 5-4 win in our community`s favor, it was also one in which nothing would be the same after it.  
Marriage equality had come to all 50 states, including Texas!

After the celebration and interviews, we decided to head over to the Harris County Courthouse to see if marriage licenses were being issued, since the Texas GOP was huffing and puffing about resisting it until the bitter end.

We arrived a little after noon at the courthouse, and there were already three couples in line to get marriage licenses, but who were being stalled by our Republican county clerk in Stan Stanart.    For the next several hours I watched the clerks being put in the uncomfortable position of denying applicants a marriage license for specious reasons as the news cameras recorded the moment.

Then after a legal world of hurt forced Stanart to stop his attempts to stall the inevitable and two press conferences , marriage licenses began to get issued at 3 PM CDT.

I also got to see the wedding I missed in 2013 between Nikki and Will after they received their marriage license.  I was also honored to see a friend and community ally in Daniel Williams marry his longtime partner Jason before bouncing from the courthouse with my friend Sahel Chen, who had joined me at the courthouse to watch the fun and pass out roses to the soon to be married couples, for a rally that started at 5 PM at Discovery Green.

That marriage rally was previously planned for today whether or not the ruling was released, and was attended by over 500 deliriously happy people, and featured speakers such as Mayor Annise Parker, LGBT politicians and community leaders, and other LGBT friendly legislators and allies.

That historic day ended for me around 9 PM, and it`s one I won`t soon forget.   Neither will the historians.