Supreme Court rules in Obergefell v. Hodges, Brings Marriage Equality to Every Corner of America

It’s official: Today, LOVE WINS.

Obergefell v. Hodges examined two key issues around same-sex marriage centered around the Fourteenth Amendment: 1) Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex? 2) Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to recognize a marriage when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out-of-state?

After months of consideration, SCOTUS ruled in favor of love, breaking down the barriers and state lines drawn to prevent marriage equality and concluding that same-sex marriage will now be legally recognized in every state in the nation.

Today’s landmark case is a major victory in the battle for LGBTQ equality. In announcing the verdict, Justice Anthony Kennedy, representing the majority, 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 they once were. As some of the petitioners in these cases demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death. It would misunderstand that 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 gives them that right. The judgment of the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit is reversed. It is so ordered.”

The ruling created a wave of emotion and praise from supporters. Here are a few responses to today’s verdict: