"No longer may this liberty be denied."

It was two years ago today that Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote those words as part of his ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage nationally in the United States.

In those two years, there are people who have tried to deny that liberty: Court clerks who claim religious objections to issuing marriage licenses, and Republican officials who propose legislation to repeal the right, and family members and "friends" and strangers who wield scorn and judgment and opprobrium as disincentives.

They have not succeeded.

[Image: Pixabay.]
In its latest polling, the Pew Research Center found: "By a margin of nearly two-to-one (62% to 32%), more Americans now say they favor [same-sex marriage rights] than say they are opposed."

That is good news, still not nearly as good as it could be.

We must remain vigilant: If the fight against Roe has taught us anything, it is the necessity of vigilance.

As if on cue: "The Supreme Court on Monday said it will consider next term whether a Denver baker unlawfully discriminated against a gay couple by refusing to sell them a wedding cake."

That case doesn't present a direct challenge to legal marriage, but it is the type of case that conservatives love because it keeps a social justice issue they want to reverse in the news and forces marginalized people to fight for equality in a way attached to the larger social justice issue, but with less public sympathy. Conservatives use cases like this to leverage sentiments like "why don't you just go somewhere else for your wedding cake?" to start eroding support for weddings altogether.

Vigilance is crucial.

On this anniversary, I recommit myself to the fight for same-sex marriage, by never letting down my guard and remaining prepared, always, to defend this right as it needs defense.

"Just as a couple vows to support each other, so does society pledge to support the couple, offering symbolic recognition and material benefits to protect and nourish the union."—Justice Anthony Kennedy, June 26, 2015.

And let us endeavor always to protect and nourish the right to forge that union.