Earlier this week, I explored San Francisco for the first time. Seeing gay flags being proudly presented around the city and stores publicly displaying their advocacy for gay rights filled me with joy. And ironically enough, gay marriage is legalized later in the same week. Kind of like a real-life foreshadowing moment, right?

On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage is now legal nationwide. Previously, it was only legal in certain states, and couples who could not marry didn’t have full marital rights. In celebration to this long-awaited day, citizens, companies, and even people from across the globe, spread the happiness and cheer with the hashtag #LoveWins throughout social media. With the Confederate flags being pulled down and the gay flags being raised in pride, the United States is slowly forming an egalitarian environment to the people and its communities. The right to love is the law of the land, and America is vibrant in color and spirit.

But notice how I said “slowly;” we still have a very long way to go.

According to the Supreme Court, “The Fourteenth Amendment requires a State to license a marriage between two people of the same sex and to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out-of-State.” I read about how in certain states, when same-sex marriage was still illegal, if a couple is different-sex but one of them is, let’s say, a trans woman and the other is a cisgender man (meaning he identifies as what he was with assigned at birth,) the trans woman would have to legally change her gender identity and fully identify as a woman for them to legally marry. Ironic because they’re a queer couple but by law, a different-sex marriage.

The biggest issue in the LGBTQ community is the discrimination, violence, and inequality transgender people face daily, especially targeted at trans POC (people of color.) Recently in the news, trans Latina and undocumented leader in the immigrants rights and LGBTQ movement Jennicet Gutiérrez was shunned and humiliated, not just by any ordinary people, but by a room-full of national LGBTQ leaders, for speaking out against the president about the brutal transphobic violence trans immigrants face. The fact that she was booed by other LGBTQ leaders brings the ignorance and prejudice trans people deal with to light.

Although same-sex marriage is now legal, gays and other members of the LGBTQ community still face discrimination. Senators and government officials threatened to harm themselves if it was legalized.  Some states even attempted to ban all marriage in order to not serve gay couples. This is just a baby step to equality; but what’s next?