Just when we thought we were done crying.
Today, after the historic Supreme Court ruling in which bans on same-sex marriages were ruled unconstitutional, we couldn't help but think of Ryan Murphy, the creative force behind such LGBT landmark TV moments as Glee, The Normal Heart and The New Normal, and how pop culture truly can bring about more acceptance and tolerance. Because confession: We are diehard TV fans and the idea that TV can help to affect positive change is…just one reason to love it all the more. And feel GOOD about it.
Glee fans know so well that Kurt Hummel's (Chris Colfer) coming out story was life-changing for so many youths, who finally saw a representation of their own struggles and subsequent triumphs on a major mainstream TV show. A first.
HBO's The Normal Heart so powerfully shed light on the HIV/AIDS crisis and gay issues in the 80's, and The New Normal, though short-lived, attempted to bring a gay-parents sitcom to middle America via NBC. All new.
We reached out to Ryan Murphy for his thoughts on today's historical Supreme Court ruling on marriage equality, and here's his exclusive statement to E! News:
"Today for the first time I know what it feels like to truly be an American--equal and protected under the law. It's a very emotional moment, one I never thought as a little boy growing up gay and scared and isolated in Indiana that I would ever have. I'm so glad that Larry Kramer got to live to see this epic day he fought his whole life for. And I am so proud of our American television creators and stars like Ellen DeGeneres, Matt Bomer, Neil Patrick Harris, Max Mutchnick and Jill Solloway just to name a few -- who brought gay and transgender moments and characters into homes and in a very big way started the national conversation that had a happy ending this morning.
Finally, I would like to give Judge Scalia a big hug and explain to him that more weddings = more cake for everybody.
Ryan."
Clearly, today's ruling is the work of countless people who never gave up on a dream of a more tolerant society, and we'd love to post statements from each and every one of them.
But one in particular, immortalized by Ryan Murphy's Finn (Cory Monteith) character on Glee, has us feeling all the feels right now:
"See the world not as it is, but as it should be."