Reacting to the Supreme Court’s decision making same-sex marriage legal, President Barack Obama called it a “victory for America,” adding that it came “like a thunderbolt” after many incremental steps prior to the ruling.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Progress on this journey often comes in small increments. Sometimes two steps forward, one step back, propelled by the persistent effort of dedicated citizens. And then sometimes there are days like this when that slow, steady effort is rewarded with justice that arrives like a thunderbolt.
This morning, the Supreme Court recognized that the constitution guarantees marriage equality. In doing so, they’ve reaffirmed that all Americans are entitled to the equal protection of the law. That all people should be treated equally regardless of who they are or who they love. This decision will end the patchwork system we currently have, it will end the uncertainty hundreds of thousands same-sex couples face from not knowing whether their marriage legitimate in the eyes of one state will remain if they decide to move or even visit another. This ruling will strengthen all of our communities by offering to all loving same-sex couples the dignity of marriage across this great land.
In my second inaugural address, I said that if we are truly created equal, that surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well. It is gratifying to see that principle enshrined into law by this decision. This ruling is a victory for Jim Obergefell and the other plaintiffs in this case. It’s a victory for gay and lesbian couples who fought so long for their basic civil rights. It’s a victory for their children whose families will now be recognized as equal to any other. It’s a victory for the allies and friends and supporters who spent years, even decades working and praying for change to come. And this ruling is a victory for America.