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Obama: Supreme Court Same-Sex Marriage Ruling 'A Victory For America'

The White House is lit up in rainbow colors in commemoration of the Supreme Court's ruling to legalize same-sex marriage.
Evan Vucci
/
AP
The White House is lit up in rainbow colors in commemoration of the Supreme Court's ruling to legalize same-sex marriage.

President Obama called the Supreme Court's decision affirming the constitutional right of same-sex couples to marry a "victory for America" that had "made our union a little more perfect."

In the 5-4 decision, Justice Kennedy wrote the opinion of the court, saying the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution requires states to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

"Our nation was founded on a bedrock principle — that we are all created equal," the president said at the White House Rose Garden following the announcement of the decision in Obergefell v. Hodges.

President Obama speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on Friday after the Supreme Court declared that same-sex couples have the right to marry anywhere in the United States.
Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP
/
AP
President Obama speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on Friday after the Supreme Court declared that same-sex couples have the right to marry anywhere in the United States.

Obama said that, often, progress on the journey to equality "comes in small increments. Sometimes two steps forward, one step back."

"And then sometimes there are days like this, when that slow steady effort is rewarded with justice that arrives like a thunderbolt," the president said.

"When all Americans are treated as equal, we are all more free," he added, acknowledging that "Americans of good will continue to hold a wide range of views on this issue."

"For all our differences, we are one people — stronger together than we will ever be alone. That has always been our story," Obama said.

"Today, we can say in no uncertain terms that we made our union a little more perfect."

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Scott Neuman is a reporter and editor, working mainly on breaking news for NPR's digital and radio platforms.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

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