From trending topics on Twitter, to the image of an equal sign that found its way onto almost every one of my friends’ Facebook profiles, the debate about whether gay marriage is constitutionally sound became a topic argued by more people than just our country’s supreme justices.

In many ways, this week felt like the bubble-over moment many had anticipated for quite some time.

Same-sex marriage has been a point of argument in the past two presidential elections and something defined differently by many states. Outside of politics, it has become a social issue championed by prominent gay and straight figures and a matter everyone is expected to have some opinion about.

For me, this issue never has been a debate about who’s right and who’s wrong.

I fully support the battle gays and lesbians have been fighting to have the same rights and opportunities as every other couple in this country and have for most of my young-adult life. But I don’t want to try to argue this point by citing excerpts from religious verses or segments of court cases from the past.

Like many of those who are the most vocal about displaying their dissatisfaction about this topic, I’m not gay. A large part of me understands the struggle many of my peers have had to deal with to have their basic rights acknowledged in this country. And using these broad topics as standing points to build an argument upon, to me, wouldn’t seem fair.

Instead, I want to talk about how this topic has left an imprint on my own family, and how easily one’s opinions can change once a topic like this hits home.

A little more than 10 years ago, one of my oldest cousins took the leap of announcing to our family she was a lesbian. For a religious family, processing this information was something that took time.

The issue of gay marriage had never been something openly argued against at holidays or family events — it was something everyone chose to ignore.

Whether or not my family members agreed with my cousin’s lifestyle up to that point was information that seemed better left untouched. My grandmother had raised four children using Catholic ideals that were passed down into the teachings of her grandchildren and likely would for generations to come.

It never was a discussion of right and wrong, it was just how things always had been.

But as time passed, any feelings of opposition toward the gay community or same-sex marriage in my family quickly vanished.

Not long after coming out, my cousin and her partner got married in California. The pair soon bought a house together and, in their biggest step as a couple, had a daughter by means of in vitro fertilization.

Without having any specific conversations, it was obvious to see this process wasn’t always easy for my family, particularly my grandmother.

In the course of 10 years, a situation she had never been faced with now was a part of her life she cared about most. As she watched her four children seamlessly accept the notion of my cousin’s lifestyle, you could tell a part of her felt torn between adhering to her duties as both a person of faith and the leader of her family.

But as I watch my grandma interact with her newest great-granddaughter and the effortless way this new person has become a member of our family, I realize none of these past distinctions really seem to matter.

When I look into my young cousin’s eyes, I know every argument people try to make against same-sex marriage never has mattered in her life.

She couldn’t tell you why it should matter that she doesn’t have a male father figure in her home or why her family contradicts a guideline in her still-unknown faith.

She doesn’t know the answers to these things because, to her, these questions don’t exist.

What she could tell you is she knows the faces of the two women who stay up with her at night when she can’t sleep, hold her when she cries and do everything in their power to love her as much as they can.

And to me, that seems more important.

Same-sex marriage and gay rights have never been issues of right versus wrong, but of love.

No matter which way our country’s Supreme Court justices eventually side, no one ever will have the power to determine who someone is allowed to love, and whether the love a couple has for each other is accepted.

Although I don’t know if it will happen soon, I look forward to a day when children, such as my young cousin, can grow up in a home that isn’t looked down upon for being different in some way.

Greg Olsen is the opinion writer at The State News and a professional writing senior. Reach him at olsengr2@msu.edu.