The U.S. Supreme Court handed down a ruling Friday morning bringing an end to the years-long debate over same-sex marriage. In a landmark 5-4 decision, the court ruled states cannot keep gay and lesbian couples from marrying and must recognize unions from all 50 states.
The decision in Obergefell vs. Hodges reverses an earlier decision by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld a ban of same-sex marriage in Kentucky, as well as in Ohio, Michigan and Tennessee. Six Kentucky couples filed suit in 2013 against Kentucky’s ban on recognizing same-sex marriages that were legally conducted elsewhere.
Gov. Steve Beshear, in a statement released from his office, said effective today, “Kentucky will recognize as valid all same-sex marriages performed in other states and in Kentucky.” His entire statement follows:
“The fractured laws across the country concerning same-sex marriage had created an unsustainable and unbalanced legal environment, wherein citizens were treated differently depending on the state in which they resided. That situation was unfair, no matter which side of the debate you may support.
Kentuckians, and indeed all Americans, deserved a final determination of what the law in this country would be, and that is the reason we pursued an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Today’s opinion finally provides that clarity.
All cabinets of the executive branch have been directed to immediately alter any policies necessary to implement the decision from the Supreme Court.
Effective today, Kentucky will recognize as valid all same-sex marriages performed in other states and in Kentucky. I have instructed the Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives to provide revised marriage license forms to our county clerks for immediate use, beginning today. We will report additional expected policy changes in the coming days.”
Excerpt From court decision follows. To read the full opinion, click here.
“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 demonstrate, 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 institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right. The judgment of the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit is reversed. It is so ordered.”
Love wins!