在一项具有里程碑意义的5-4裁决中，最高**宣布同性婚姻在美国合法化。这意味着50个州都实现了婚姻平等，包括13个同性婚姻非法的州。

今天的裁决涉及肯塔基州、密歇根州、俄亥俄州和田纳西州的四个案件，在这些案件中，各州的**都要求维持婚姻禁令。在最高**的意见书中，肯尼迪法官写道，婚姻的历史是“延续和变化”的历史，时代已经改变，以满足国内男女***者的需求。直人之间的婚姻与同性之间的婚姻没有区别，因此维护歧视他们的法律是非法的：

No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were. As some of the petitioners in these cases dem***trate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death. It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves. Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization’s oldest instituti***. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The C***titution grants them that right. The judgment of the Court of Appeals for the SixthCircuit is reversed. It is so ordered.

奥巴马总统迅速在推特上回应这一分水岭决定：

然而，今天裁决中的不同意见有足够的空间来表达他们的不满。首席大法官罗伯茨以及大法官托马斯、阿利托和斯卡利亚都认为这一裁决违反宪法，解除婚姻禁令的权力应该留给各州。斯卡利亚甚至特意声明，人们选择谁结婚对他来说都无关紧要，但关于婚姻在当今美国应该如何运作的辩论应该在没有最高**干预的情况下继续下去。

尽管有不同意见，但这是不可避免的

随着肯塔基州等州短暂**今天的裁决，辩论可能会继续，但毫无疑问，最高**的裁决最终带来了活动家几十年来所要求的彻底变革，而美国大多数人近年来也开始接受这一裁决。