I remembered back to the day when I was invited to speak to a group of Yeshiva and Jewish Day School Alumni at the Lesbian and Gay Community Center. Some of those gathered were trying to reconcile strict Jewish halachic law with the quest for equal civil marriage. More than a few were wrestling with that conflict. It was my first time discussing civil rights with a group of religious gays and lesbians that struggled with their own predisposition to oppose even secular recognition same-sex relationships on par with heterosexual marriages.

Leaving law school in 1992 and throwing my lot in with the gay and lesbian civil rights movement gave me a chance to participate and view the struggle from the front lines. From ActUp to Lambda Legal Defense, I joined activists who I admired for their determination and endurance. (I learned many lessons as I founded my own non-profit to address the plight of immigrants in our community who because of their sexual orientation, gender identity and.or HIV status were treated unfairly by the immigration laws.) The attorney-activists I worked with in those days knew they were in it for the long haul. By its very nature fighting for social justice, moving public opinion, seeking the support of elected officials, are snail-paced endeavours. And yet, 12 years of hard work has flown by in a sense. So many battles over domestic partnership and civil union; over corporate policies for partners of employees; and adoption. Who knew we would be able to celebrate such a resounding victory only 12 short years after the Hawaii decision? While we marched, lobbied, begged and pleaded, wrote op-eds, and finally, unbelievably, saw the newspaper of record announce our marriages to the world... all that while we were inching toward this decision.

I recently did some spring cleaning in my office the result of which was that I could not find tissues today at 1 p.m. when I needed them; luckily the coarse napkins that had come with my sandwich were piled in front of me and served the purpose. For those of you who have shed those emotional tears of joy you know the feeling: something has overwhelmed you, washed over you leaving you helpless to control your reaction. I kept scrolling down. My surprise at the decision turned to elation. My disbelief gave way to yelps of joy (mostly inside) and fast and furious instant messaging with my friend Brad in Boston as we raced through the decision to finally arrive at page 118, then 119... Ah those reliable water works, quickly followed by a runny nose. And soon there were no napkins.

My law partner came into my office at one point to talk to me about a client matter and asked if my allergies had returned. No, I said, almost embarrassed, I'm just a little overwhelmed by the ruling. Equal Protection Clause! Suspect Class! I sniffled. For 55 minutes I received PINS, blackberry messenger messages, IMs, emails and text messages from all over the country and even outside the country. All my friends were sharing in the joy of reading those first 120 pages, tearing through it to find out the remedy, or to learn whether we had won in part, or if this was going to be a home run.

By 1:55, as I was telling my friend Matt in DC that I felt weird getting this emotional about a court's decision, I realized that I was no longer teary-eyed. It took an hour for the reality to sink in. Mildred and Peter Loving's love for each other brought about the last great revolution in marriage laws in this country, ending the ban on inter-racial marriages. Although they are no longer with us, we are bearers of their legacy. We have a responsibility to continue this progress. Forty-eight states shamefully still exclude same-sex couples from marriage, including my own state, New York. And most despicably, the federal government's so-called "Defense of Marriage Act" still denies recognition to lawful marriages of gay and lesbian couples. Taking stock of this great victory means wiping away the tears of joy, celebrating and then getting back to work. As Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, " the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice."