By ALEX FERNANDEZ and ROBERT WOLFARTH
Two weeks ago we stood on the steps of the Supreme Court for one final picture as single men right before our US Representative, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, united us as married Americans. We were full of jubilee and excited — in part out of relief that the justices had not issued an unfavorable ruling on our wedding day. (Can you imagine the wedding drama that would have ensued?)
As our guests celebrated and toasted to our marriage at the Florida House, Florida’s embassy in the capitol, the big question lingering over the celebration and in everyone’s mind symbolically towered right before us — what would happen if the Supreme Court chose to vote against recognizing the constitutionality of marriage equality?
Luckily our love and commitment for each other would have prevailed over any Supreme Court ruling — for our bond had already thrived over the nine years leading to the occasion. But today we not only celebrate our love as a recently married couple, but also the unconditional love and support of friends and loved ones, and the embrace of our American Constitution for justice and equality!
For too long, decent, hardworking Americans were confined to the shadows of our society simply because of whom they loved. The United States was fractured with individual states voting for constitutional amendments to prohibit the legality of same-sex marriage.
But a new day has risen for America. A day in which every couple, who in their love and commitment are forming their own families, at long last can participate in marriage, the most conservative of institutions. An institution that has been deliberately and cautiously entered into by countless Americans — both gay and straight — for their respect of the institution and most importantly in recognition of their commitment to their marital partner.
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Sadly, the justice of equality prescribed by court after court and by our nation’s highest court has yet to make its presence known in communities and homes throughout America, where perhaps our very own neighbor, coworker, brother or sister may feel forced to hide his or her true self for the fear of losing the love of a family member or friend, being fired from work, or ridiculed by society.
The fear and irony of losing love for loving is all too real – and painful.
It is in our communities, at our jobs, at our schools, and families where we must continue the work of the fearless leaders who advocated for the rights we enjoy today. Our advocacy for acceptance and equality must transcend the law and legal jargons and through our actions find its way into the hearts of Americans who, in their own right, have yet to open up their eyes and minds to accept the love that any two people can unconditionally share for each other and from which strong families are founded.
To those Americans, we owe the respect we hope to get in return. In us they must find the reflection of tolerance paving the way for acceptance — for one thing is clear, there is more to every human being than simply his or her sexual orientation or their stance on equality. We must find our common bonds through which we can demonstrate and prove for ourselves that we are indeed equal as humans.
By projecting a positive example of what it means to be a man or a woman who happens to love another, in us is the opportunity to help justice and equality continue prevailing every day in the hearts and in the homes of those who we come across in our daily lives.
As pioneers in the enjoyment of the right to equality in marriage, we find in ourselves the obligation to help strengthen an institution which has long been under attack and for which divorce has far too often been an expedient way to solve conflicts. We owe it to this great land to leave behind a more positive example of what it means to be a loving and committed American family. The example that through open communication, forgiveness, familial support, and love much can be overcome.
While family heirlooms are often handed down as treasured wedding gifts, our greatest gift has been to witness a more tolerant and accepting country being handed down to a new generation of Americans for whom the justice of the equality and the pursuit of happiness shall be an unquestionable right under the eyes of the law. There is no more invaluable treasure to hand down from generation to generation of Americans than our Constitution securing these fundamental rights.
“We are forever thankful to this nation for its embrace and the opportunity to live free of discrimination and fear. May God bless the United States – united in equality!”
Alex Fernandez is senior communications aide for Miami-Dade Commissioner Rebeca Sosa and Robert Wolfarth, a real estate broker, is the grandson he grandson of former Miami Mayor William M. Wolfarth.
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