I have always been a supporter of gay marriage, but my support has lacked urgency. I have comfortably reclined, watching while support for gay marriage slowly inches up. After all, social movements take time. However, a recent event helped me realize the privilege within the nature of my support.

I attended a screening in my temporary home of Minneapolis for the documentary “Question One,” a stunningly moving account of Maine’s 2009 gay marriage referendum campaigns. During a question and answer session with the filmmaker, I decided to give a Mainer’s perspective. I tried to be encouraging to the crowd, dominated by middle-aged gay couples, by saying that there was no doubt in my mind that, in time, my generation of young adults will lead to gay marriage being accepted by the people of Maine and across the country.

No one seemed comforted.

It wasn’t until then that what should have been obvious really hit me. As a young man, time may be on my side. As a straight man, my own legitimacy within society isn’t at stake. But for so many, that is not the case. For them, it is a profoundly personal issue, and time is precious.

Mainers still deciding how to vote come November need to make it an issue, not about a faceless group, but about individuals. Find ways to learn more about people who will be so deeply affected by the results, and consider the power you hold in bringing gay couples an enormous wealth of happiness.

Shane Morin, Minneapolis, Minn.