On October 21, governor of New Jersey Chris Christie announced his withdrawal of his appeal to the judge who legalized gay marriage in New Jersey. Now, gay marriage is completely legal in New Jersey, and looks to be unchallenged in court. This is another step for Christie to gain voters, since he is probably going to run for the 2016 presidency. However, his administration says he disapproves of the Supreme Court’s decision, which was apparently made without correct judgment, but he has a constitutional duty to enforce the law.

Begrudgingly or not, now Christie has allowed his state to become the 14^th to allow gay marriage. This is a huge victory for the LGBT community, and many all over the country are celebrating. But, 35 states, including our own, ban gay marriage. Therefore, in most parts of the country, only the “privileged” 97% heterosexuals have the right to marry, while LGBTs sadly cannot.

LGBT rights have come a long way, but still have many bridges to cross. One day, the Supreme Court will hear a case about this issue and may ban it, or allow it everywhere. This is a social decision, not a political decision, since the court generally votes based on public opinion. Homosexuality is said to be sinful by those who improperly contextualize holy scriptures and twist its words. Religious books have been written thousands of years ago, in very archaic languages; therefore, those words are easy to interpret many different ways.

I don’t understand why some would choose to interpret these words in a hateful way. It feels so much better to love, or tolerate, than to resent and hate. Also, love is a much better emotion, and all anybody wants to do is love. Everyone imagines walking down the hall holding hands with someone, and what their wedding will be like. So what if the other person happens to be of the same gender?

Change is a difficult thing. However, to truly move forward as a society, change must happen. Everyone should have the chance to love, and no one should be burdened with hate.