Is this finally it for gay marriage?

Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court announced it would take up two cases regarding the polarizing issue of gay marriage. Both sides on this issue are at once thrilled and nervous at the possible implications. I feel the same way.

The two issues being looked at are California’s Prop. 8 ban on same-sex marriages from 2008. It is under dispute there and has made it up to the highest court in the land for a decision. The other is the federal Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, that defines marriage as only between one man and woman, and limits who can receive the federal benefits of marriage.

Could this be it?

Could the issue of gay marriage be settled once and for all, or rendered back to the states to be fought over for years to come? Nine states have made it legal, but 31 have passed laws in opposition and even written it into their state constitutions. The stakes are very high indeed. History will be made regardless of the high court’s decision for, or against, same sex marriage.

A decision in favor of such marriages would gut DOMA. Prop. 8 would be assigned to the nearest garbage can. All those laws that the 31 remaining states have on their books and in their constitutions would be dead, just like the decision decades ago to legalize interracial marriage nationwide.

This is my hope — the last civil rights movement. People could finally put down their signs and live life to the fullest; that is, if the court goes that route. It all depends on the arguments made in March to render such a decision later in the early summer.

It could go either way, which is why groups from both sides are understandably nervous. Passions have been very high about the issues of gay rights, and more so about the issue of same-sex marriage. Some people are feeling threatened by the issues for a variety of reasons. It is sad to say that religion has been used as a weapon against a group of people whose only wish is to enjoy the same rights as the rest of us without being painted as pariahs for being who they are.

Not all feel this way, even people of faith. There are those like myself who support the rights of the gay community to live in freedom and to have the right to marry who they choose of the same sex. They already can live their lives openly in most cases, and even serve this nation in the armed forces openly without fear of being discharged as they were in the past. They are fighting in our wars right now, openly. But this last hurdle is being denied to them.

That is, at least for now.

Now it comes down to a waiting game. What direction will the court go? One decision could pick the winners in a national debate that has divided much of the country. Or, it could send it back to individual states to fight on for years to come, maybe decades.

I favor the former. I want it to be settled and let these people — some of them my friends — to live their lives without fear or false judgment. These people are Americans, too. They deserve all of the rights their fellow Americans have. That is why a straight guy like myself is all for it. We are all equals, and it’s about time the law and this nation truly treats everyone as such.

The decision is up to the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court. How it will come about for or against is up to them. The nation will be watching and waiting with bated breath. I will be, too.

Wasilla resident Daniel D. Grota retired from the U.S. Army after more than 21 years of service.