Same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry nationwide, the U.S. Supreme Court said in a historic ruling that caps the biggest civil rights transformation in a half century.
Voting 5-4, the justices said states lack any legitimate reason to deprive gay couples of the freedom to marry. Justice Anthony Kennedy joined the court’s four Democratic appointees in the majority, bringing gay weddings to the 14 states where they were still banned.
“No union is more profound than marriage for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice and family,” Kennedy wrote.
The ruling is a legal landmark, on par with the 1967 Supreme Court decision that guaranteed interracial couples the right to wed. It punctuates a period of sweeping change in the rights of gays, coming only 11 years after Massachusetts became the first state to allow same-sex marriages.
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