“The constitution promises liberty to all within its reach,” – US Supreme Court legalizes gay marriage nationwide

THE United States Supreme Court on Friday June 26, 2015 legalised same-sex marriage across all the 50 states in the country, striking down the remaining bans in Texas and a dozen other states by a 5-4 vote.

Justices Anthony Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan were in the majority.

Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Chief Justice Roberts dissented.

The court declared that refusing to grant marriage licences to gay and lesbian couples violates the constitution.

The majority opinion in the 5-4 decision was written by Justice Anthony Kennedy.

Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote that the plaintiffs asked “for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right.” “The constitution promises liberty to all within its reach,” Kennedy wrote.

The ruling brings to an end more than a decade of bitter legal battles.

Attorney General, Ken Paxton, on Thursday urged county clerks across Texas to await his direction before issuing marriage licences.

Before now, a total of 36 states allowed gay couples to get married, covering roughly 70 per cent of the US population.

Friday’s ruling means the bans must end in the other 14 states – Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas.

The decision capped a remarkably quick turnaround in public and judicial acceptance of same-sex marriage. In the past 18 months, court rulings struck down marriage bans in rapid succession – nearly 60 separate decisions in more than half the states.

Friday’s ruling overturned a decision from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, which said states had legitimate reasons for maintaining the traditional definition of marriage.

President Barack Obama said the ruling was a “victory for America”.

“When all Americans are treated as equal, we are all more free ” he said.

The case considered by the court concerned Jim Obergefell, an Ohio resident who was not recognised as the legal widower of his late husband, John Arthur.

“It’s my hope that gay marriage will soon be a thing of the past, and from this day forward it will simply be ‘marriage,'” an emotional Mr Obergefell said outside the court.