The US Supreme Court made same-sex marriage legal throughout
the nation Friday in a much-awaited landmark decision that triggered wild
jubilation and tears of joy.
In a 5-4 ruling, the highest court in the United States said
the Constitution requires all 50 states to carry out and recognize marriage
between people of the same sex.
President Barack Obama, in heartfelt remarks, praised the
ruling as “a victory for America.” The court decision marked a fresh coup for
the White House, coming a day after the Supreme Court upheld an important and
disputed section of the president’s signature health care reform.
“Today we can say in no uncertain terms that we’ve made our
union a little more perfect,” Obama said at the White House, which changed its
Twitter avatar to the rainbow colors of the growing gay rights movement.
“This decision affirms what millions of Americans already
believe in their hearts — when all Americans are treated as equal, we are all
more free.”
It also made the United States the 21st country or territory
in the world that recognizes same-sex marriage as legal.
Flag-waving LGBT rights advocates on the packed Supreme
Court forecourt — some in tears — cheered, danced, shouted “USA! USA!” and sang
“The Star-Spangled Banner” in celebration.
Prominent in the crowd was Jim Obergefell, the lead
plaintiff in the case, clutching a photo of his deceased husband John Arthur.
He took a brief phone call from Obama, who told him: “Not
only have you been a great example for people but you’re also going to bring
about a lasting change in this country.
“And it’s pretty rare where that happens so I couldn’t be
prouder of you and your husband. God bless you.”
Obergefell, who was live on television at the time, replied
humbly: “Thank you, sir. That means an incredible amount to me.”
Also in the vast crowd outside court as the life-changing
news filtered through were Robert Westover, 51, and Tom Fulton, 57, who
hugged and kissed.
“It feels like my birthday, the prom, our wedding day. It’s
hard to express the intensity of this moment, that our love now is equal,”
Westover told AFP.
The case was brought by 14 same-sex couples, and the
widowers of two gay couples, including Obergefell, who had challenged de facto
bans on same-sex marriage in Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee.
All four states had insisted in their respective
constitutions that marriage could only be a union between a man and a woman.
“The Fourteenth Amendment (providing equal protection under
the law) requires a state to license a marriage between two people of the same
sex and to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their
marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out-of-State,” the court ruling
said.
Marriage has been a core institution in society since
ancient times, “but it has not stood in isolation from developments in law and
society,” reasoned Justice Anthony Kennedy, who delivered the ruling.
To exclude them from marriage, Kennedy said, would deny
same-sex couples “the constellation of benefits that the states have linked to
marriage.”
Voicing dissent was Chief Justice John Roberts, who
expressed concern that the court was making a decision better left to elected
state legislatures.
“If you are among the many Americans — of whatever sexual
orientation — who favor expanding same-sex marriage, by all means celebrate
today’s decision,” he said.
“Celebrate the achievement of a desired goal. Celebrate the
opportunity for a new expression of commitment to a partner. Celebrate the
availability of new benefits.
“But do not celebrate the Constitution. It had nothing to do
with it.”
The decision came two years to the day after the Supreme
Court, in another major ruling, struck down a controversial federal law that
denied US government benefits to wedded gays and lesbians.
“This transformative triumph is a momentous victory for
freedom, equality, inclusion, and above all, love,” said Freedom to Marry, one
of several groups battling for LGBT marriage rights.
“We’ll remember this day for the rest of our lives,” added
the It Gets Better Project, another gay rights organization, in a mass email to
supporters.
But the conservative Family Research Council expressed
outrage, saying “no court can overturn natural law.”
“Nature and nature’s God, hailed by the signers of our
Declaration of Independence as the very source of law, cannot be usurped by the
edict of a court, even the United States Supreme Court,” it said.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, whose state has also
prohibited same-sex marriage, said the fight going forward was now one of
“religious liberty.”
“No court, no law, no rule, and no words will change the
simple truth that marriage is the union of one man and one woman,” he said in a
statement.
“Nothing will change the importance of a mother and a father
to the raising of a child — and nothing will change our collective resolve that
all Americans should be able to exercise their faith in their daily lives
without infringement and harassment.”
