http://www.npr.org/2013/03/21/174879832/as-gay-marriage-heads-to-court-a-look-back-at-the-bumpy-rideAri Shapiro, NPR News, March 21, 2013
"Gays and lesbians have adopted the phrase "it gets better" as a kind of slogan to assure young people that life won't always be so tough. Looking back, life has gotten dramatically better for LGBT people in the United States in a very short period of time. The modern gay rights movement began less than 50 years ago. Today, supporters of same-sex marriage outnumber opponents."
This article chronicals some of the steps that have lead the LGBT-rights movement to where it is today, from
Bowers v. Hardwick, to Barney Frank coming out in 1987, to the character of Rickie Vasquez on
My So-Called Life which aired in 1994, to Matthew Shepard, to Vermont legalizing civil unions in 2000 and Massachusetts allowing same-sex marriages in 2004.
Next week, the US Supreme Court will be hearing challenges to California's gay-marriage ban.