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#LoveWins, an All-American Movement

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             The social media movement #LoveWins blew up in June of 2015 after the Supreme Court voted in favor of marriage equality throughout the United States. Hours after the ruling, numerous social media sites, especially twitter, were overflowing with the hashtag #LoveWins in support of the SCOTUS’ decision. The ruling was a landmark victory for the LGBTQ community, and the Supreme Court’s majority opinion stated that “No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than they one were. As some of the petitioners in these cases demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death. It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves. Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization’s oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right. The judgement of the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit is reversed. It is so ordered.”

              Marriage equality, which had previously been outlawed in certain states, was given a place in law. Through this ruling, Gay and Lesbian citizens were able to marry whoever they so pleased without facing unlawful repercussions. Former president Barack Obama sparked the hashtag’s popularity through an initial tweet, which said “Today is a big step in our march toward equality. Gay and lesbian couples now have the right to marry, just like anyone else. #Lovewins.” Numerous politicians, celebrities, and political activists supported the movement through retweets and shares of the #LoveWins hashtag, causing it to rapidly increase in popularity over a very short amount of time. Michelle Obama, Joe and Jill Biden, Lady Gaga, Leonardo DiCaprio, Sir Ian McKellen, Beyoncé, and Ellen DeGeneres were among a vast board of iconic U.S. citizens to adopt the movement in the wake of the ruling. Millions of tweets surfaced in the days following the legalization, due largely to the massive support for the LGBTQ community in the United States.

             The hashtag was celebrated in corporate America as well. Major corporations like Coca-Cola, Disney, Starbucks, MasterCard, Uber, Visa, and American Airlines all voiced their support for the #LoveWins movement, even at the possible detriment of losing customers who opposed the agenda. Tech CEOs were among those who aimed to highlight the progressiveness of the movement, including Apple CEO Tim Cook, who came out as gay in 2014. Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, created custom rainbow filters and provided social data pertaining to LGBTQ groups in the United States before and after the legalization, announcing his support in the process.  

             Though the hashtag has dipped in popularity in the three years since the ruling, #LoveWins is still used today. It still retains its roots as a movement towards equality, but has been used more recently to call for equality in advertising when it comes to interracial couples and families. Love, as put forward by this new concept, is meant to expand over the boundaries of social norms, especially if they don’t favor equality in modern America. Love truly does win, and the enormous backing of the #Lovewins movement shows just that. Kim Goulbourne, a coder and creator, sums up the movement very eloquently. “#LoveWins marked a historic day, but the fact that it’s still being invoked means that the fight for equal rights is far from over.”

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