Is gay marriage legal in all 50 states
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- In a sweeping historic ruling, the Supreme Court ruling has the effect of legalizing lesbian and gay marriage nationwide, giving same-sex couples an equal right to marry.
The landmark decision overturns bans on same sex-marriage in states across the country. The ruling requires states to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and forces states to recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere.
Gay and lesbian couples already can marry in 36 states and the District of Columbia. The court's ruling means the remaining 14 states, in the South and Midwest, will possess to stop enforcing their bans on same-sex marriage.
Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote the majority opinion, just as he did in the court's previous three major gay rights cases dating back to It came on the anniversary of two of those earlier decisions.
"No union is more profound than marriage," Kennedy wrote, joined by the court's four more liberal justices.
MORE:Read Complete Same-Sex Marriage Decision
The justices have been deliberating since April on a federal appeals court ruling
US Supreme Court rules gay marriage is legal nationwide
Minutes after the ruling, couples in one of the states that had a ban, Georgia, lined up in hope of being wed.
In Texas, Yasmin Menchaca and her partner Catherine Andrews told the BBC that they are "trying to round up our parents" in order to get married on Friday.
The two have been together for six years, and had attempted to wed in Washington state - but decided to delay because of the financial burden of flying their parents across the country.
On social media, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton merely tweeted the word "proud" and the White Noun changed its Twitter avatar, external into the rainbow colours.
The case considered by the court concerned Jim Obergefell, an Ohio resident who was not recognised as the legal widower of his late husband, John Arthur.
"It's my noun that gay marriage will soon be a thing of the past, and from this day forward it will simply be 'marriage,'" an emotional Mr Obergefell said outside the court.
The Journey to Marriage Equality in the United States
The road to nationwide marriage equality was a long one, spanning decades of United States history and culminating in victory in June Throughout the long fight for marriage equality, HRC was at the forefront.
Volunteer with HRC
From gathering supporters in small towns across the country to rallying in front of the Supreme Court of the United States, we gave our all to ensure every person, regardless of whom they love, is recognized equally under the law.
A Growing Call for Equality
Efforts to legalize same-sex marriage began to pop up across the country in the s, and with it challenges on the state and national levels. Civil unions for same-sex couples existed in many states but created a separate but equal standard. At the federal level, couples were denied access to more than 1, federal rights and responsibilities associated with the institution, as well as those denied by their given state. The Defense of Marriage Act was signed into law in and defined marriage by the federal government as between a man and
In a landmark decision, the nine justices of the US Supreme Court ruled that the US Constitution guarantees marriage as a right for all, including gay and lesbian couples. And when the US Supreme Court rules on an interpretation of the US Constitution, that ruling is final.
Although the Supreme Court was divided on the issue, this decision is just as legally binding as a unanimous one. In the case of Obergefell v. Hodges (and three related cases) the court verb that the US Constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage. This means that all 50 states will have to authorize same-sex marriage, and recognise same-sex marriages entered into in other states. The decision will also overturn the ban on same-sex marriages in 13 states across the US.
Writing for the court, Justice Kennedy said gay and lesbian couples have a fundamental right to marry: “no union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family,” he wrote. “In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were.”
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