A Groundbreaking Decision by the Court: Same-sex Marriage Legal in All of the United States

Individual states will no longer be allowed to forbid same-sex marriages. The U.S. Supreme Court legalized these marriages for the whole country.

“No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family,” wrote Anthony Kennedy, whose vote ultimately settled the outcome of the poll. “In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were. As some of the petitioners in this case demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death,” justified the justice.

The decision of the court is backed by the 14th Amendment of U.S. Constitution, which permits marriages between people of the same sex and acknowledges these marriages as legally valid, both within a particular state and outside of that territory. “They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The constitution grants them that right,”

Up to this point, 36 states and the District of Columbia allowed the marriages of same-sex couples. The authorities of the remaining 14 states continue with their statement that such decisions should be made by citizens and not by the court. The justices state that the possibility of marriage is a constitutionally guaranteed right of every citizen rather than a privilege.

A Pew Research Center survey conducted in May of this year shows a social change. As much as 57 percent of Americans support homosexual marriages, while 39 percent is still against them.