Supreme Court Extends Same-sex Marriage Nationwide

14 States to Stop Enforcing Bans

The Supreme Court has declared that same-sex couples have a right to marry anywhere in the United States.

Gay and lesbian couples could already marry in 36 states and the District of Columbia.

The outcome is the culmination of two decades of Supreme Court litigation over marriage, and gay rights generally.

Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote the majority opinion, just as he did in the court’s previous three major gay rights cases dating back to 1996.

The court’s ruling on Friday means the remaining 14 states, in the South and Midwest, will have to stop enforcing their bans on same-sex marriage.