Supreme Court Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage Nationwide

The U.S. Supreme Court has officially made it legal for all same-sex couples to marry.

The justices ruled 5-4 in the case Obergefell v. Hodges the the 14th Amendment to the Constitution guarantees the right for same-sex marriage. More importantly, the ruling does not allow states to limit the right to heterosexual couples.

But the justices were bitterly divided over the issue.

“The court now holds that same-sex couples may exercise the fundamental right to marry. No longer may this liberty be denied to them,” Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in the majority opinion. -- Washington Post

Reading a dissent from the bench for the first time in his tenure, (Chief Justice John) Roberts said, “This is a court, not a legislature.” -- Washington Post

Polls show that anywhere from 61 to 70 percent of Americans support same-sex marriage -- mostly among younger people.