Supreme Court Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage Nationwide

Thanks to a Supreme Court ruling handed down today (June 26), same-sex marriage is now legal in all 50 states.

According to the Associated Press, in a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court has declared that same-sex couples have a right to marry anywhere in the United States.

Gay and lesbian couples already can marry in 36 states and the District of Columbia. The court's ruling on Friday means the remaining 14 states, in the South and Midwest, will have to stop enforcing their bans on same-sex marriage, the Associated Press said.

The court's four liberal justices (Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Steven Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan) were joined by Anthony Kennedy, who wrote the opinion. Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, John Roberts and Samuel Alito, were in dissent. The case that spurred the ruling, known as Obergefell v. Hodges, struck down laws blocking gays from marrying in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee.

The decision by the court marks a landmark victory for the gay-rights movement, particularly for same-sex couples in states that had passed laws preventing them from marrying and receiving the legal benefits that marriage ensures. Recently, public opinion has been shifting rapidly in favor of allowing gays to marry. This decision is by far the biggest win for supporters of gay marriage, many of whom would likely not have thought this possible even just a decade ago.