"Thirty years from now-when gay people have won the freedom to marry and our society looks back and wonders what the big deal was-our children, grand-children, nieces, and nephews will want to know where we stood and what we did at a pivotal moment. Did we make a difference? Did we stand for the right? Or, invoking tradition or our personal reli-gious beliefs, motivated by prejudice or anxiety, hesitant and resistant to change that seemed discom-forting, or indifferent to the consequences of our silence and acquiescence, did we turn our backs and deny our fellow human beings liberty, equality, and the pursuit of happiness?

"The choice belongs to-just as commitment depends on-each of us. And that is the American way."