By Adam Umhoefer, American Foundation for Equal Rights

Two years is too long to wait for something that is so obvious and inevitable.

Saturday marks the two-year anniversary of the District Court decision that ruled Prop. 8 unconstitutional. It’s easy to forget how historic the ruling is—after all, gay and lesbian Californians still can’t get married and have lived in the shadow of a law that was said to be unconstitutional 731 days ago. But, the decision is a major milestone in our quest for marriage equality.

The historic 136-page decision included 80 findings of fact that speak to the importance of marriage in our society and the irreparable harm caused by discriminating against a group of people. The landmark decision was affirmed earlier this year by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Nearing the Finish Line

While the road to the end-goal of full federal marriage equality has been too long, we can finally say Prop. 8 is breathing its last breath.The Prop. 8 Proponents have just asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take our case.  The Court will either take our case, issuing a final decision by June 2013, or marriage equality will be restored in California as early as October.

Either way, we know that soon gay and couples will finally have the respect and equal dignity the constitution says they should have. For loving couples like AFER’s plaintiffs, Kris & Sandy and Jeff & Paul, and for everyone who believes every American should have the freedom to marry the person they love, that day cannot come soon enough.