Obergefell v. Hodges decision legalizes same sex marriage throughout the U.S.

Supreme Court, by a 5 to 4 margin, legalizes same sex marriage in every state. In a decision written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, the court declares, “Changed understandings of marriage are characteristic of a Nation where new dimensions of freedom become apparent to new generations.” Of homosexuals seeking the right to marry, he writes, “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.” In its decision, the court cites the Massachusetts Goodridge case in 2003.