Ken Shelin is the co-chair of Equality Florida

There is a sense of relief and joy that the hard work of building public acceptance of same sex marriage has paid off in the recognition by the U.S. Supreme Court that the U.S. Constitution means what it says about equality for everyone.

The effort to make the case for same sex marriage was a concerted local effort from city to city and state to state across the nation building an understanding that gay people were being discriminated against because their relationships were not being given the dignity and respect they deserved.

But, as you might expect, there is more to be done because it is still legal to fire gay people without cause from their jobs, to discriminate against them in housing and in public accommodations. So we are working on putting such legislation in place in cities and counties throughout Florida. We will also be working in the Florida Legislature and the US Congress to do the same.

Ken Shelin is the co-chair of Equality Florida