U.S. Supreme Court rules same-sex marriage a legal right nationwide

This morning (June 26) the U.S. Supreme Court ruled same-sex couples can marry in all 50 states across America.

In a 5-4 decision, the court found the U.S. Constitution guarantees a right to marriage for gay and lesbian couples the same as it does for heterosexual people.

Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote the majority opinion wherein he included these words:

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. As some of the petitioners in these cases demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death. It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves. Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization’s oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right.

Dissenting opinions written by Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Antonin Scalia argued the U.S. Constitution does not address the issue of gay marriage.

U.S. President Barack Obama expressed support for the ruling with a message on Twitter that read “Retweet to spread the word. #LoveWins”. That post ran with the image above.

Canada made same-sex marriage legal on July 20, 2005, when Parliament passed the Civil Marriage Act.