Supreme Court Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage Nationwide

This image is courtesy of @WhiteHouse on Twitter.

This piece is guest written by Jason Claman.

In a 5-4 decision, the United States Supreme Court ruled this morning that same-sex marriage is a constitutional right. The ruling prevents states from prohibiting same-sex marriages and establishes marriage equality as the law of the nation.

Justice Anthony Kennedy, known as a moderate conservative, joined the court’s liberal wing (Breyer, Ginsburg, Kagan, Sotomayor) in the decision. He also authored the majority opinion, in which he stated: “No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were.”

The dissenting justices (Alito, Roberts, Scalia, Thomas) expressed disappointment that marriage issues were not left to the political process, but were instead dictated by the court system.

Public reaction was strongly supportive of the decision. Many people took to social media to express their excitement – “#lovewins” and “#SCOTUSmarriage” quickly began to trend on Twitter, Facebook, and other sites.

Many public figures also offered their views on the ruling. “There’s so much work to be done to extend the full promise of America to every American,” commented President Barack Obama in a speech this morning. “But today we can say — in no uncertain terms — that we’ve made our union a little more perfect.”