In a narrow 5-4 vote, the United States Supreme Court has ruled that same-sex marriages must be granted and recognized as valid legal unions in all 50 states. This ruling capped a longstanding legal battle between Jim Obergefell and the Ohio State Health Department.
According to the case summary, the court’s decision was that to deny same-sex couples the right to marry was denying them a fundamental right as defined by the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the 14th Amendment. The ruling overturns bans previously held in fourteen states, where marriage licenses are now being issued to same-sex couples.
This is considered a victory for the gay rights movement and was dubbed “justice that arrives like a thunderbolt” by President Barack Obama. The fourteen states that have been directly affected by this ruling include Alabama, Arkansas, Ohio, Texas, North Dakota, South Dakota, Mississippi, Tennessee, Michigan, most of Missouri, Nebraska, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Georgia.