30 Things That Made Us Cry On Marriage Equality Day, Take A Kleenex

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Half an hour after the Supreme Court announced its historic 5-4 decision to make marriage equality a 50-state reality in the United States, it became apparent to our entire Autostraddle dot com staff that we weren’t going to be able to do anything but cry and laugh and cry some more all day today. Such jubilation! Such celebration! So many tears! Here are the 25 things that made us cry (and cry-laugh) the most (in no particular order).

1. Justice Kennedy’s majority opinion

justicekennedy

2. President Obama’s speech

3. The White House changing its social media profile photos

whitehouse

4. This mental image of Joe Biden

https://twitter.com/JillBidenVeep/status/614439317558181889

5. Congressman John Lewis’s response

6. Carrie and Bren’s A-Camp wedding

CarrieBrenWedding_ACamp_RobinRoemer_304-640x426

7. Deep south states issuing marriage licenses to gay couples

Special note: this first picture features SARAH, former Managing Editor of Autostraddle.com!

8. Notorious RBG Memes

1314561535617480264

https://vine.co/v/eJzhTFvLK0K

9. Kristin Russo and Jenny Owen Youngs

10. Taylor Hatmaker’s insight

https://twitter.com/tayhatmaker/status/614445831261818880

https://twitter.com/tayhatmaker/status/614490861267607552

https://twitter.com/tayhatmaker/status/614481658406768640

11. Big Gay Branding

iDough-iDough-pint

364 days a year, we hate big gay branding. But today? Today is not like those other days. Also ice cream is delicious.

12. The true reality of marriage equality

13. Proud bald eagles

huggingeagles

14. Chick-fil-(g)a(y)

15. Laneia and Megan’s wedding photos

https://instagram.com/p/4Zlh0VhFZD/

16. Vox’s visual marriage equality retrospective

The march of marriage equalityWatch marriage equality come to all 50 states. Read about it here: http://bit.ly/1LtTaeD

Posted by Vox on Friday, June 26, 2015

17. Samira Wiley’s Mom

View this post on Instagram

Moms knows what's up. 🎉🎉👭

A post shared by Samira Wiley (@whododatlikedat) on

18. OMG Seattle!

19. Supergay Superheroes

20. The first couple to marry in Dallas County

21. Mari’s wedding photos

mari-wedding-2

22. President Obama calling Jim Obergefell

23. This Republican commentator

Who was moved to tears by the response of gay people outside the Supreme Court.

24. Robin and Carly’s wedding

25. This meme

1314561535725805128

26. Aja & M’s Wedding Photos

https://instagram.com/p/4Z3ZEbgyDo/?taken-by=dearjonesey

27. Lauren Morelli and Samira Wiley being adorable

View this post on Instagram

Love Wins. ❤️

A post shared by Lauren Morelli (@lomorelli) on

28. This Video

29. Gabby and Laura in D.C. for the big day

“Gabby and I just got interviewed by Univision and when they asked how we feel about the marriage decision, Gabby pulled a Selena and said “Estoy muy excited.”” – Laura

gabby-and-laura

30. YOU GUYS

ascomment

It is so ordered! Stay hydrated and have one hell of a Pride weekend! We fucking love you!

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Heather Hogan

Heather Hogan is an Autostraddle senior editor who lives in New York City with her wife, Stacy, and their cackle of rescued pets. She's a member of the Television Critics Association, GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, and a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer critic. You can also find her on Twitter and Instagram.

Heather has written 1719 articles for us.

51 Comments

  3. #4 dear Joe Biden, pics or it didn’t happen. But srly of someone can find me a gif of this I will never want for anything ever again.

    • i regret to inform you that it is a parody account, which is so sad, because jill biden shipping #JOBAMA almost made my day

  4. I had been bottling up the feels and finally started crying right before I opened this because I saw a photo my best friend posted of her mom congratulating her, and it reminded me of 2012/13 when we had endless conversations about how scared we were of coming out to our moms and brought into focus just how far we have come.

    HOW FAR WE HAVE ALL COME.

  5. Bye: Gonna go help California with their water shortage with my tears. I was fine until everyone’s wedding photos, strategically placed throughout so I could not cry and then cry some more.

  6. Already cried a bunch today but the thing about seattle CLOSING THE STREETS TO PAINT RAINBOW CROSSWALKS TODAY totally made me cry again just now. This whole post was wonderful. All the AS wedding pics aaaaah! <333

    *drinks electrolytes* *sniffle smiles*

    Congratulations everygay!

  7. republican commentator made me almost cry and then obama made me actual cry because i, uh, read from the bottom up like the queer person i am.

  9. crying again! beautiful list. especially all of those wedding photos, omfg. i found myself reading this article out loud as a whispered incantation to myself, or something else magical. is that weird? anyway i wasn’t planning on going out tonight for anything nyc pride related, but now i’m feeling like i should maybe! at least there’s lots of fun stuff tomorrow!

  10. Wow. Sippy Cupp actually said something sensible for once. Let’s all enjoy this blessing while it lasts.

    And yeah, pics or it didn’t happen Joe Biden.

    • I was super bummed out when I found out the Joe Biden thing came from a parody account.
      But that mental image is still wonderful, so I can’t even be mad.

  12. I think I’ve read Meghan’s comment a thousand times today (and similar stories everywhere on the internet) and I happy-cryed every. single. time.

    Also, I’ve seen a couple of clearly fake Joe Biden’s pics with the rainbow flag but in my mind they are 100% legit.

  13. When I saw Robin and Carly’s wedding picture on the front page, I thought that that was Lindsey Shaw. DAMN, THE BATMAN GOT MARRIED?

  14. I was doing okay, then Meghan’s comment comes up. I’ve seen it in the original post.

    The dam just broke, I want to hug 14 year old Meghan, hug Meghan now, hug the whole world.

    And now I’m gonna blast my house down with this…

    • Consider this an internet hug, both from me and 14 year old me! (She’s in there somewhere, wide eyed and marveling at all of this.)

  15. Someone get me that fucking Ben & Jerry’s. We’ll get married on the spot. B)

    But seriously, this post, all these posts, made me so happy and sappy. Obama and Biden and the Republican lady and the big companies being gay and cute wedding photos and words and…it’s all beautiful.

  16. And now you’ve got me crying too. I know marriage equality is only one small piece in an enormous puzzle, and I know this ruling is only for the U.S. and that the U.S. isn’t the world. I know that we have so far to go, still, and that it will be even more difficult now to convince people equality hasn’t fully been achieved. I recognize all these things. But when I think about our history, about how far we’ve come and about how much we’ve struggled to get to this moment…I can’t help but be filled with tremendous, unutterable joy. When I grow up, I can get married to whoever I damn well please, provided they want to marry me. I can cross the border from one state to another and maintain my legal marital status. I am, at least in this small regard, finally treated like an actual person. I will read textbooks about this someday. I can tell my kids about it, if I choose to have any. I can continue in the fight for justice and equality knowing that change really is possible. And that? I think that is completely worth celebrating.

  17. I am British, this doesn’t directly affect my life, but wow it feels good. Congratulations Americans. Go out and know that you can face everything life throws at you with the legal recognition of your partner in crime.

    • I’m also not directly effected by this because I’m Australian, but I still found myself crying in happiness with this.

  19. I was okay until #28 and then ALL of the happy tears came. I still can’t believe it! I truly thought I would have had to move out of my home state in order to get married, but now it’s something I can do anywhere! Ugh, I need to hunt down some tissues now…

  23. One thing I’m struck by is how many people I know who said they were taken aback by how much they felt today.

    I’ve been married for nearly seven years, and I’m struck by how much I felt today!

    We need flasks full of this feeling for when we’re fighting the other fights down the road. Don’t forget it! Everyone who suffers discrimination should feel it, and bask in the soft and good glow of equality. Let’s all remember what this strange and glorious and precious thing is, how it feels, how to find it in one another so that a week, a month, a year, ten years from now, we can call on it and make the world a better place.

    • I totally agree! There’s even a few people posting in comments on AS today about maybe coming out today! I feel it too; feeling a little less self-conscious about posting something on my fb wall that identifies me as gayyyyy. *jazz hands*

  24. I CRIED SO MUCH UGHHHHH I AM A HUGE CRYBABY AND I DON’T EVEN CARE.

    Also going to Berkeley this weekend to visit my sister, and it just so happens to be SF Pride AND THIS CRAZY THING HAPPENED TOO SO. It’s gonna be insane.

  26. I didn’t cry over this all day, and then I watched the video of the progression of marriage equality. All the waterworks now.

    The fact that I could be wearing an Air Force uniform on marriage equality day when a few years ago at this time I could have been kicked out for being out, and that my friends announced the SCOTUS ruling to me- on base, in uniform- with, “now we REALLY need to find you a wife!” makes it all the sweeter.
    We’ve made so much progress. I won’t deny that we still have a long way to go, but I’m still so happy.

  27. #18- I am so proud to live in the Seattle(ish) area. We have a $15 min wage AND coffee AND rainbow sidewalks! The crosswalks are expected to last up to 6 years I think!
    #8- I <3 RBG! I posted this in the other thread, but my new favorite hashtag is # RuthBetterWinsberg.

    AND CONGRATS to all the beautiful autostraddlers in the wedding photos!!!

  29. My entire Facebook newsfeed has been taken over by rainbows because of this, and I’m Australian. When I came out 15 years ago I NEVER thought I would see so much love for the queers from so many different corners – even a couple of fundamentalist Christian friends are sporting rainbow-ed profile pictures and talking about how love is the Christian thing to do. I’ve gotten a bit teary a couple of times today myself.

    The momentum here at the moment is HUGE, we’re looking at a federal vote in September maybe. This might just be the pressure on our government that means the tipping point.

    Congrats folks, we’re celebrating pretty hard for you down here!

  30. I didn’t cry yesterday – mostly because I spent the entire day jumping around and screaming with my friends about the decision – but I cried right now watching the Youtube video thing. I am so happy right now. When I woke up, I knew the decision because my sister had texted me a video to “Today was a good day” by Ice Cube and I just LOST MY SHIT

  31. I was fine (STOKED! but not crying!) yesterday, was almost crying until #28 and then CUE WATERWORKS!

    To all of the couples, current and future, to all of the children who will grow up knowing that they can marry who they wish, to the allies, to ALL OF US! You are beautiful. You make my heart go pitter-patter. You are loved.

  35. Y’all I just realised those cows are lesbians. Masculine leaning lesbians, look at them matching top hats!

  38. omg everyone is beautiful and I’m crying even now

    Carly and Robin and all you other Autostraddle humans need to tone down the cuteness or we’ll never stop crying!

  39. the Republican commentator was so cute and her moved response was so moving until she started talking about monogamy and “American family values” hahaha

    OH WELL DON’T CARE, HER PARTY IS A PARTY OF RELICS ALREADY

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