US Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Friday in favour of gay marriage on constitutional grounds.
The case, commonly known as Obergefell v Hodges, challenged the definition of marriage in four US states as "a union between one man and one woman," under the 14th amendment to the US Constitution, specifically the provision guaranteeing equal protection under the law.
"The right to marry is a fundamental right inherent in the liberty of the person, and under the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment couples of the same-sex may not be deprived of that right and that liberty," the court ruling reads.
The White House official Twitter account used a rainbow-themed avatar for the day:
#LoveWins. pic.twitter.com/s5aiwIsFz8
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) 26 июня 2015
President Obama welcomed the Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide.
Secretary of State John Kerry echoed Obama's comment in his own Twitter account:
Every day we see so much trouble in the world. With the #SCOTUS decision, I am proud to celebrate that in America #lovewins.
— John Kerry (@JohnKerry) 26 июня 2015
In March 2015, the Obama administration filed a brief with the Supreme Court stating the White House opinion that it is unconstitutional to ban same-sex marriages.
In 2013, the Supreme Court ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act signed in 1996 by former US President Bill Clinton which prevented the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages legalized by states was unconstitutional.
Thirty-seven states and the District of Columbia, home to some 70 percent of the US population, allow same-sex marriages.
