Yesterday, dozens of gay and lesbian couples throughout California were married, giving them all the rights and privileges heterosexual couples have long enjoyed. Following a recent ruling by the California Supreme Court that effectively legalized same-sex marriages throughout the state, gay and lesbian couples turned out in droves at city halls and county offices around the state to celebrate their love for each other and this historic achievement.

The first couple to be married in San Francisco was Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, who have been together more than 50 years. It would have been nearly impossible for either Mrs. Martin or Mrs. Lyon, when starting off on their life together in the 1950’s, to imagine a day when their relationship would be legally recognized as a marriage.

As a culture, we’ve come a long way – but there’s still much to be done. So far, Massachusetts and California are the only states to recognize same-sex marriages. In 2006, Colorado voters passed Amendment 43, an initiative defining marriage as between one woman and one man, and thus effectively barring same-sex marriage. On the same day, voters also rejected Referendum 1, which barred civil unions and denied the rights of gay and lesbian couples to be treated as married couples as a matter of law, even if their relationship isn’t considered a marriage, as such.

With Colorado’s respect for individual liberty and the intrinsic equality of all men and women, we should expect better of ourselves. For anyone with regular exposure to gay and lesbian couples in long-term relationships, you know that their relationships are just like those of heterosexual couples. They have the same affection for one another, the same squabbles, the same issues. They are, in fact, married in every sense of the term – even if some among us are too blind to see it.