Testimony has concluded in the federal trial that will determine the fate of Proposition 8, but for gay-rights activists, the fight is far from over. It will be another few weeks before U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker issues his ruling, and many more before the inevitable appeal reaches the Supreme Court.

The struggle to overturn Proposition 8 is being led by an unlikely pair. The last time attorneys David Boies and Ted Olson faced off against each other was during Bush v. Gore, the landmark Supreme Court case that decided the Presidential Election of 2000.

Despite vast ideological differences, Boies and Olson have come together to protect what they say is “one of the most vital personal rights.”

During the two-and-a-half week trial, Boies and Olson raised three major arguments: that marriage is a fundamental right, that it is harmful to discriminate against gays and lesbians and that issues of equality and civil rights cannot be put to vote.

The last argument mirrors a decision made by the Supreme Court in the 2004. The verdict of Lawrence v. Texas decriminalized gay sex between consenting adults and reinforced the notion that opposition by the majority is not enough to justify discrimination against a minority, including gays and lesbians.

Arguments defending Proposition 8 were laid out by former Justice Administration lawyer Charles Cooper in a recent interview with Time Magazine. He said that the central purpose of marriage was child-rearing, and that marriage was the most “pro-child institution.” This argument carries little weight when you consider that fertility is not a prerequisite for marriage.

Cooper also said that children deserved to be raised by a mother and father. But this ignores the reality of children who are raised by single parents across the country. There is no evidence or reason to suggest that a child raised by a single parent, or by two loving moms or dads, is any worse off than a child raised by both parents. The final argument Cooper raised involved the “sanctity” of marriage. But a quick glance at any tabloid will tell you that perhaps marriage vows aren’t as solemn and sacred as Cooper thinks.

Indeed, if Cooper really wants to preserve the sanctity of marriage, I would suggest he turn his attention to Tiger Wood’s liaisons with half of southern California or Britney Spears’s 55-hour Las Vegas marriage, rather than a marriage between two men or two women who truly love each other.

If anything, history shows that matters like these — matters of civil rights — should not be determined by public opinion. It took a landmark decision by the Supreme Court to end racial segregation in public schools.

If left to vote, such a decision would not have been reached by a majority during the time of Jim Crow.

The most powerful argument for marriage equality that I’ve heard came from an 86-year-old veteran of World War II who happened to be a lifelong Republican. Stooped with age, he shuffled up to the podium to speak before a crowd of gay-rights activists at a rally in Washington D.C. Though his voice cracked and wavered, I’ll never forget his words. He told about how surprised he had been to be asked months before whether he supported equality for gays and lesbians.

He responded, “What do you think our boys fought for at Omaha Beach? For what? For freedom and equality. These are the values that [make] America a great nation, one worth dying for.”

Whether it’s two adversaries whose words determined a presidential election or a veteran of Patton’s Third Army, it’s heartening to see people from such different backgrounds come together for a cause they believe in, a cause that says we can be different and still be equal. And just like the struggles for Civil Rights that came before it, I believe the fight for marriage equality will be the defining struggle of our generation.

Jason Febery is a junior in Engineering.