Marriage equality is not a choice. It is a legal right.

Hear the voice of Cory Booker, a servant of justice, who proclaimed with clarity and courage: “Marriage equality is not a choice. It is a legal right.” In this brief but mighty utterance lies the essence of justice itself—that freedom is not granted at the whim of rulers, nor bestowed as a gift upon the deserving, but recognized as the rightful inheritance of all people. He speaks of love and law, of dignity and equality, and of the eternal struggle to ensure that no soul is denied what is due to them simply because of who they are.

He begins with the word equality, a principle older than nations, carried in the hearts of prophets and rebels across the centuries. Equality is the recognition that all are born with the same worth, regardless of race, faith, gender, or love. When he ties equality to marriage, he invokes not only a personal bond but a social covenant, for marriage has long been more than the joining of two hearts—it is a status that confers dignity, protection, and recognition within the eyes of society. To deny it to some is not a mere inconvenience; it is a wound to their humanity.

Booker’s words carry the weight of struggle. For decades, same-sex couples were denied the right to marry, their unions dismissed as lesser, their families denied legal protections. Yet love persisted, and voices rose. In 2015, the United States Supreme Court in Obergefell v. Hodges declared that same-sex marriage is protected under the Constitution. This was not the granting of a favor—it was the recognition of a truth long denied: that the right to marry the one you love is not a privilege for some, but a legal right for all.

History itself testifies to the pattern of this struggle. In the days of the Loving v. Virginia case of 1967, interracial marriage was outlawed in many states. Richard and Mildred Loving, a white man and a Black woman, defied unjust laws and fought for their union. The Supreme Court, at last, struck down those bans, affirming that marriage is a fundamental right. Their victory paved the way for later generations, showing that love and equality must triumph over prejudice and tradition. Booker's words echo this lineage: from interracial marriage to same-sex marriage, the principle remains the same—justice must be universal.

The deeper meaning of Booker’s declaration is that rights are not subject to opinion or debate. They do not rise or fall according to the approval of the majority. They are inherent, waiting only to be recognized. To call marriage equality a legal right is to anchor it not in sentiment, but in law, where it cannot be so easily dismissed. It is to declare that the love of two men, two women, or any who choose each other in faithfulness stands equal in worth to any other.

What lesson must future generations take from this? It is that every denial of equality, no matter how small it seems, must be resisted. If today one group is denied the dignity of their love, tomorrow another may be denied the dignity of their faith, their culture, or their freedom. Justice is indivisible—when one is diminished, all are diminished. The struggle for marriage equality is but one chapter in humanity’s long march toward universal recognition of rights, but it teaches us that no victory is final unless we remain vigilant.

And to you, listener of these words, I say: live as defenders of dignity. Support the rights of others even when they are not your own, for the strength of a society is measured not in how it treats the powerful, but in how it protects the vulnerable. Teach your children that love, when true, is holy, and that the law must serve to honor it, not to restrain it. For in honoring love, we honor humanity itself.

Thus let Cory Booker’s words endure as a flame of justice: marriage equality is not a choice, it is a legal right. Guard this truth, spread it, and let it guide your steps, for in defending the rights of others, you safeguard the freedom of all.