In politics, one often must take victories wherever they can be found. 

Lack of gun control claims lives, banking deregulation ruins finances and the filibuster blocks the voice of the majority. These are political losses that devastate us every day. 

Finally, however, it looks like a real victory is headed our way. Gay marriage has never had more support, and while we shouldn’t waste a moment letting our guard down, celebration of the fact that Americans are finally coming to their senses on this civil rights issue is most certainly in order. 

The most promising sign of the acceptance of gay marriage is the Republican Party’s lack of reaction to Rob Portman’s (commendable) flip-flopping.

Even though Rob Portman has always been a moderate, and not quite in touch (I mean this in a very good way) with his base’s views, the dampened whimper of a response to his support for gay marriage was really weird and very surprising.

Adding to the sudden wave of support, Hillary Clinton proved once again how awesome she is by affirming a basic human right for the Human Rights Campaign through her public support of gay marriage.

This is all wonderful, and entirely welcome, but some part of me still wonders how this could have taken so long. The ignorance and bigotry that opposes gay marriage — at least I hoped — was supposed to wither and dry when exposed to basic decency and logic.

Civil rights issues of the past are often looked back on with joy and some perverse pride in our government (for both creating and “solving” the problem), but more still are ashamed that it was ever an issue in the first place.

Gay marriage exists a current example of such a shameful issue, and it’s about time we put that shame in the past rather than letting millions of Americans continue to live in a legal state of oppression.