Times are changing.

Our society has become more accepting of same-sex marriage and LGBT rights. Consider this: In 1996, a mere 27 percent of Americans believed same-sex marriage should be legal. But now, according to a recent CBS poll, 53 percent of Americans were in agreement that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry. The support only continues to grow — so much so, that the highest court of the land is now considering its legality.  

As the Supreme Court begins conducting oral arguments about the Defense of Marriage Act and Proposition 8, both of which restrict marriage to one man and one woman, we have to realize the potential impact of these cases. These very decisions shape societal values for generations to come. 

You don’t have to look further than the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education nearly 60 years ago. Brown set precedent for academic institutions, eliminating racial segregation in schools. While it may seem like a preposterous notion to fathom today, this issue once divided the country. Yet, Chief Justice Earl Warren and the Court understood the importance of educational opportunity for all Americans, regardless of race, stating, “We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.”  

It was a decision that spoke volumes about political and social change. 1969’s Supreme Court case of Tinker v. Des Moines is another example. The Court held that students were entitled to freedom of speech and further expression of their views, after students were wrongly suspended from school for wearing black armbands in protest of the Vietnam War. Had a case like this gone the other way, perhaps our rights now as students would be limited. 

It is those cases, those moments, which have propelled us forward in the name of progress and equality. Because if the Supreme Court fails to act when the issue is most controversial and most relevant, how can they expect to be an influential force in societal change? Both Brown and Tinker are controversial cases exemplifying decisions that our generation would have thought to be easy to make.

But we haven’t quite reached the finish line. 

Discrimination facing the LGBT community continues to tear at the weave of our social fabric. Signed in 1996, The Defense of Marriage Act defines “marriage” under federal law as a legal union between a man and a woman. Though the bill wasn’t as publicly controversial at that point in time, shifting societal beliefs undoubtedly require that it now be repealed. 

Even the American Academy of Pediatrics recently released a study finding that children need supportive, nurturing parents — regardless of the couple’s sexual orientation. Similarly, adoptive and foster parents should be able to care for a child regardless of sexual orientation. It is crystal clear — there is no reason why a same-sex couple cannot raise a child. So why can’t they also get married? 

African Americans had to endure discrimination for nearly a century and a half before Americans as a whole reflected upon the meaning of equality, prompting the passage of the Civil Rights Act. I cannot imagine the state of our equality would exclude the LGBT community. And government action once again is needed to reaffirm this belief. 

Our actions must now be reflective of the acceptance we should have for all men and women of these United States, despite the individual differences we all possess. However, the one difference we must not share is the hindrance of the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness that our friends, families and fellow citizens alike rightfully deserve. I want to be a citizen in a society that stands for justice, and promotes peace and prosperity. A part of a nation that treats everyone as equals — regardless of where they come from, what the color of their skin is or what their sexual orientation may be. In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., hopefully we will continue to strive to be a nation that does not judge each person by all of these inferences, but rather, the content of our character. Time will always change; and so must we.

Imran is a sophomore in LAS. He can be reached at [email protected].