The full court opinion is here:
Supreme Court Affirms Constitutionality of Gay Marriage
The court’s historic 5-4 ruling cements the legality of same-sex unions nationwide.
In part the opinion of Justice Kennedy:
“The nature of injustice is that we may not always see it in our own times,” Kennedy wrote in a 34-page opinion. “The generations that wrote and ratified the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment did not presume to know the extent of freedom in all of its dimensions, and so they entrusted to future generations a charter protecting the right of all persons to enjoy liberty as we learn its meaning.”
In part the dissenting opinion of Justice Roberts:
In a dissenting opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts argued that the issue was not within the court’s realm to decide.
“This Court is not a legislature,” Roberts wrote, calling the majority’s decision “an act of will, not legal judgment.” “Whether same-sex marriage is a good idea should be of no concern to us. Under the Constitution, judges have power to say what the law is, not what it should be.”
Roberts also said he would “begrudge none their celebration” following the ruling, but said the majority’s approach was “deeply disheartening.” All the dissenting judges indicated the decision amounted to overreach on the part of the judiciary, with suggestions that the ruling interrupted the democratic process through which the legality of gay marriage had been extending across the U.S.
Questions remain:
1. How will it work if 2 gay Muslims want to get married in a mosque where Sharia is applied?
2. Will any church lose their tax exempt status for refusing a gay marriage ceremony?
3. Will a bakery be sued for refusing to bake a wedding cake for a gay marriage?
4. Is the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) signed by Bill Clinton a law that has been repealed by the Supreme Court decision?
5. Marriage is recognized at the State level and by the Supreme Court decision has now become a Federal law, has this ruling laid the ground for the death of the 10th amendment?