Just days after same-sex couples started exchanging vows in California, I had the honor of officiating at one San Diego couple’s ceremony – that of Carol and Jo McClintock. They wore matching white shirts, black slacks, Hawaiian leis and smiles from ear to ear. After 21 years together, the state of California legally recognized their relationship.

The image of that beautiful moment at the San Diego County Administration Building captures the essence of our community’s progress. Years ago the prospect of marriage rights appeared unlikely and today we witness hundreds of touching ceremonies almost daily in the county. What seemed like a dream is now a testimony to our equality.

The McClintocks’ story and that of thousands of married same-sex couples across California is powerful. Each time another couple publicly exchanges vows, it reminds the larger community that we are their neighbors and that life goes on as normal.

Under such circumstances, however, people may be lulled into believing everything is going well for the GLBT community. Some may think that attaining the freedom to marry is the ultimate accomplishment, the last right sought in a decades-long struggle for respect and equality.

Even during this month of Pride, a time to celebrate being “out” and empowered, we cannot afford to only revel in the fruits of our advancement. That’s because our opponents have placed a constitutional amendment on the November ballot that seeks to prohibit future marriages of same-sex couples in California.

The challenges of beating this initiative are great, but they are not unlike those we confronted in the past. Whether it was asking the police to stop harassing us, demanding more funding for AIDS research, or allowing military personnel to serve openly, we know what it means to organize resources and volunteers to fight for basic rights.

In fact, San Diego LGBT Pride began in 1974 as a small gathering of activists insisting that our community be treated with dignity and respect. Their political action seemed profound at the time, and in retrospect it was.

And from those humble beginnings asking the police to stop harassing us, Pride has become the pinnacle for mobilizing the GLBT community for political action. This year’s event, perhaps more than any in the last 10 years, reminds us of that function.

Today we have an opportunity to finally replace the ignorance and indifference of the past with understanding and compassion. This year we may permanently affirm California as a place of fairness and justice. Just as California became the first state to allow inter-racial marriages in 1948, this year California may become only the second state to allow GLBT couples to marry.

What a powerful testament to equality that would send. The California Supreme Court did its part ruling in our favor in May and now I hope all of you will do your part before November.

Start by volunteering, but also by sharing our story. Tell your brothers, mothers, neighbors and bosses about the GLBT community’s story of struggle, its story of action and its story of progress. Tell them that the freedom to marry – which we now enjoy – must be protected. And tell them that their help is needed, too, because the GLBT community will need all its compassionate friends to prevail in November.

Our work is not finished, but together we will achieve the respect and dignity that we’ve sought. That’s the power of Pride and I hope you make the most of it this year.