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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW More lightning, high winds possible ... Scientist: We need to learn to live with wildfires ... Weather or Not: June in Redding — er, I mean Ashland ... More lightning, high winds possible ... Scientist: We need to learn to live with wildfires ... Weather or Not: June in Redding — er, I mean Ashland ... COMMENTARY Jeffrey Gillespie: A landmark in the history of love Comment DailyTidings.com Writer Posted Jul. 3, 2015 at 12:01 AM Posted Jul. 3, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News As far back as 1895, one of the most famous authors and playwrights in world history described his feelings for Lord Alfred Douglas as "the love that dare not speak its name." Shortly thereafter, Oscar Wilde was summarily labeled a "sodomite" and thrown into jail. Later, his spirit crushed and health ruined, he retreated to continental Europe, and died there at 46. In our own country, Mike Wallace profiled "The Homosexuals" in a macabre news special in 1967, wherein a gay man hid behind a ficus plant and discussed his dream of a normal life, one in which he might be free to love and be loved. Less than two years later, a series of riots took place at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, New York City, the backlash to a police raid on that perceived den of iniquity. The moment was considered by many to be a crucial turning point in the LGBT movement, when an oppressed underclass began to fight back. As we celebrate the landmark ruling by the Supreme Court last week that the right to marry is a right for all people in this country, we also must pause to remember those who have suffered and died for this moment. Harvey Milk comes immediately to mind, whose death sparked a furor in his City by the Bay. Mathew Shepard, the Wyoming teen who was brutally murdered in what lawyers for his killers later called a "homosexual panic," is another icon of the movement who springs to mind — a young man who died hanging from a fence, pistol whipped and bloodied, nearly 20 years ago, for no reason other than that he was gay. So too Brandon Teena, a trans man who was raped and murdered in Humboldt, Nebraska in 1993, is not forgotten. But many have been forgotten. Over the years, tens of thousands have lost jobs, been unable to visit sick partners, or have been left unsupported as a surviving spouse in what has been an unrecognized marriage, enduring decades of subtle abuse and stinging indifference at the hands of the American legal system. The conservative lobby is still making arguments that marriage equality should not have come to pass, that the ruling is a mistake, and that God is more important than the legislature. While God is an interesting concept, Nature is a fact — and that which exists in nature cannot be deemed unnatural, by definition. There is a palpable sense of sea change in the country this week. As of this ruling, "pride" need no longer be contextualized as gay pride, any more than "gay marriage" need be differentiated from marriage in general. In one final, fell swoop, the language of prejudice has become the mechanism of an old paradigm. So do those of us who have supported the movement now pack up our banners and wander off home, our cause fulfilled? Not a chance. As long as there are men like Paul Ryan and Antonin Scalia in the world, there will be cause for vigilance. The right wing, armed and angry, is bound to fight on, as it has historically against fundamental freedoms deemed unworthy of its worldview. We must also continue to move forward on the momentum of an extraordinary week for progressive America. But for now, the pride that was once reserved as a tool of the struggle for equal rights can be redirected towards our country and its laws, which have proved once again that the Constitution is strong, that our freedoms are intended for all of us, and that love and acceptance will always triumph over prejudice — given sufficient time. Jeffrey Gillespie's writing has appeared in the Santa Fean and Art Collector magazines, the Portland Mercury and Willamette Week. He lives in Ashland.   DailyTidings.com Writer Posted Jul. 3, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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