The Supreme Court of the United States sprinkled a bit of light and hope on a dark and tension-filled 2015 when they ruled on June 26 that all American citizens, regardless of sexual orientation or gender, have the right to marry the person they love. Obergefell v. Hodges stands out as a victory for the United States in a year when innocent lives were taken by corrupt police forces in the name of discrimination , in a year when gunfire tore through the country and in a year where a legitmate contender for the White House called for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.”

Obergefell v. Hodges, which came after decades of hard-fought and persistent civil rights activism, was welcomed with tearful embraces, joyful parades, and celebrations from people of all genders, sexual orientations, ages, races and ethnicities across the nation and the world.

The decision was also unsurprisingly met with resistance and protest. Kentucky court clerk Kim Davis famously spent five days in jail for refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses. Justice Antonin Scalia called the Court’s decision a “threat to American democracy.”

Resistance to the decision is part of a wave of conservatism in the United States that reflects a trend of asymmetrical political polarization. While the left moves farther to the left, the right moves even more extremely farther to the right. Conservative political extremism has birthed movements like the Tea Party and presidential candidates like Donald Trump, who is a staunch supporter of what he refers to as “traditional marriage.”

The decision was monumental. Obergefell v. Hodges will go down in history among other famous United States Supreme Court cases like Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka and Roe v. Wade. But it is just the beginning of the reforms that need to be made in this country in order for people of all genders to be considered equal and included. This same year, the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, which promised nondiscrimination protection on a number of bases including race, religion, sex, disability and gender identity, was voted down. Clearly, Obergefell v. Hodges is merely the beginning of a long road to freedom and equality.