The U.S. Senate took a momentous step Tuesday, passing a same-sex marriage law that offers a vital backstop for LGBTQ folks in Kansas and the nation. While the Respect for Marriage Act falls short in some ways, it shows how far we’ve come over the past few decades.
In 1996, after all, President Bill Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act into law. That forbade the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages, and allowed states to ignore such marriages performed elsewhere. Only five years later, in the fall of 2001, I met the man who would become my husband.
Our time together has seen sweeping change throughout these United States.
