(PCM) In a historic ruling the battle over gay marriage rights has finally come to an end. Today, the Supreme Court ruled that gay marriage is now legal in all 50 states.
Prior to the ruling, same-sex couples were able to legally wed in all but 14 states, mostly located in the South and the Midwest, however now those hold-out states will be forced to cease their bans on same-sex marriages. The new ruling will not, however, go into immediate effect. Those in opposition will have a period of three weeks to seek out a reconsideration.
Sources say the Supreme Court rule 5 to 4 on the gay marriage vote and Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote the majority opinion which states ““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.”
The United States is now the 21st country in the world to allow same-sex marriage in every jurisdiction. Polls conducted state that 60% of Americans are in favor of gay marriage today, which is a huge jump from only 37% back in the early 2000’s.
