On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges, legalizing nationwide marriage equality for LGBTQ+ Americans. This landmark decision was the result of decades of advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights, with highlights including Massachusetts becoming the first state to permit same-sex marriage in 2004. The ruling addressed previous court decisions and bans, emphasizing the inconsistency of laws limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples. Justice Kennedy's majority opinion underscored the importance of recognizing equal rights within marriage, marking a celebratory moment for LGBTQ+ communities nationwide.
The limitation of marriage to opposite-sex couples may long have seemed natural and just, but its inconsistency with the central meaning of the fundamental right to marry is now manifest.
Momentum for marriage equality had been building for decades. The ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges was a culmination of decades of advocacy and judicial progress.
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