I Am the Mountain celebrates the Supreme Court's 5-4 landmark decision legalizing same-sex marriage across the nation! Hard to believe a forty-eight-year gap exists between when interracial marriage and gay marriage were respectively legalized. I’d like to say that couples of all kinds have always gravitated to the landmark of Stone Mountain to carry on courtships since time immemorial—carving their names and initials inside hearts into the rock for later generations to decipher ("Are Marianne and Greg really still together till infinity?" "Who were Mauro and Rosalind?" Poor Nick. His just reads “Nick +  .”)—but we know that just isn’t true. Only 45 years ago, the first Gay Pride marches took place in just a handful of major U.S. cities (not Atlanta, sorry) in honor of the Stonewall Riots that erupted in New York City on June 28, 1969 (the Stonewall Inn was officially declared a historic landmark just this past Tuesday). Before then, homosexuals were largely treated as morally defective sexual deviants, and many were not even allowed entry into the United States before the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965.

"Love Wins!" Speaking of Stonewall, let's get back to this mountain with T.J. “Stonewall” Jackson carved on its side (lore is that the nickname arose from his “resolve in the face of the enemy,” when, in 1861, Confederate General Bernard Bee said at Manassas, “Look, men! There is Jackson standing like a stone wall!”). The name of course bears no direct relation to the Stonewall Inn or Stonewall Rebellion, but with today’s ruling and this week’s renewed debate about the Confederate flag—and the word “Stonewall” practically being a catchword for the gay rights movement—I can’t help but consider just how many Confederate and Union soldiers were probably gay (so I poked around the Internet and wasn't disappointed). May the mountain always be a place for partners of every kind and every color, and may it be just as commonplace in another 45 years to see carvings for “Rachael & Jordan” or “David + Eric,” “Sarah Luvs Veronica,” or "Clarence and Antonin Forever" on the same rock as three Confederate generals. After all, the LGBT community has long stood up to the enemy Hate like a stone wall, so as to finally see this unforgettable day when “Love Wins!” Put a rock on that!

Sarah and Veronica

See more couples on Stone Mountain