Variations?

Today marks a major anniversary. Just a year ago today, the US Supreme Court issued its ruling on US v. Windsor. And ever since then, we've seen a flurry of federal court rulings throughout the nation in favor of marriage equality.

Earlier today, Rep. Dina Titus (D-Paradise) took to the House floor to celebrate the anniversary.



However, she didn't stop there. In recent weeks, Rep. Titus has also been speaking up and demanding full equality for LGBTQ veterans.



LGBTQ families still face difficulties in securing the veterans' benefits they earned. And while "Don't Ask Don't Tell" may be over for gay, lesbian, and bisexual soldiers, trans* soldiers still can't serve their nation openly. There's still plenty of unfinished business in and out of The Pentagon when it comes to LGBTQ civil rights...

So why can't Rep. Joe Heck (R-What?!) and Senator Dean Heller (R-Why?) see this? Rep. Heck still can't serve anything other than a tossed word salad. And Senator Heller? Well, he... He... He... Actually, we'll let Ralston try to explain this one.

What does @SenDeanHeller mean? He's against gay marriage, but there are "variations" in marriage between a man and a woman? Jabberwocky.

Now we'll give credit where credit is due. Last November, Senator Dean Heller did ultimately vote for ENDA. He has made some progress in accepting LGBTQ civil rights. So why is it so difficult for Senator Heller to accept what Rep. Steven Horsford (D-North Las Vegas) now celebrates, Senator Harry Reid (D) cheers on, and most other Nevadans now strongly support?

Do he and Rep. Heck share the same "political issues" with Adam Laxalt? Are they just as confused about "segregation laws" as Cresent Hardy? Or do they actually believe "Republican rebranding" can magically make this inconvenient "political issue" go away?

This may be an inconvenient "political issue" for G-O-TEA politicians like Heller, Heck, & Hardy. But for Americans like Yaz’min Shancez and Brittany-Nicole Kidd-Stergis, this literally means life or death. For millions of American workers, this means dollars and sense. For millions of American families, this means love and honor. And for a number of American veterans and active servicemembers, this means dignity & respect.

Senator Heller and other G-O-TEA politicians might like to believe there are "different variations" of equality, but the only true type of equality is actual equality. How many "different variations" of this simple message must spread before they finally get it?