How long has gay marriage been legal in the us

It means the 14 states with bans on same-sex marriage will no longer be able to enforce them. Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote thatexternal the plaintiffs asked "for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right. The ruling brings to an end more than a decade of bitter legal battles.

Same-sex couples in several affected states including Georgia, Michigan, Ohio and Texas rushed to wed on Friday. However officials in other states, including Mississippi and Louisiana, said marriages had to wait until procedural issues were addressed. President Barack Obama said the ruling was a "victory for America".

President Obama: "This ruling will strengthen all our communities". However, Christian conservatives condemned the decision. Former Arkansas governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee called it "an out-of-control act of unconstitutional, judicial tyranny". And Kellie Fiedorek, a lawyer for an anti-gay marriage advocacy group, said the decision "ignored the voices of thousands of Americans".

Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, a state where marriages licences will now be issued to same-sex couples, said the justices "have imposed on the entire country their personal views on an issue that the Constitution and the Court's previous decisions reserve to the people of the states".

A sea of rainbow flags overwhelmed the few anti-gay marriage activists who reacted in disbelief, and the demonstration seemed to turn into a street party. A tour bus drove past honking as hundreds cheered the decision. One of the demonstrators, Jordan Monaghan, called his mother from his mobile phone amid the celebrations.

Your son can have a husband now," Mr Monaghan said. Jordan Monaghan told his mum: "Your son can have a husband now. Minutes after the ruling, couples in one of the states that had a ban, Georgia, lined up in hope of being wed. The two have been together for six years, and had attempted to marry in Washington state - but decided to wait because of the financial burden of flying their parents across the country.

On social media, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton merely tweeted the word "proud" and the White House changed its Twitter avatarexternal into the rainbow colours. 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.

Couples in some parts of Texas were able to get married.

How legal tide turned on same-sex marriage in the US

The first state to allow same-sex marriage was Massachusetts, which granted the right in In recent years, a wave of legal rulings and a dramatic shift in public opinion have expanded gay marriage in the US. Inthe high court struck down a federal anti same-sex marriage law. How tide turned on same-sex marriage.

Who are the justices on the US Supreme Court? This video can not be played. The morning gay marriage came to the US. Emotion of winners and losers outside Supreme Court. Image source, AP. States affected:. More on this story.