Reacting by the U.S. Supreme Court to legalize same-sex marriage, President Obama said, “There鈥檚 so much more work to be done to extend the full promise of America to every American. But today, we can say in no uncertain terms that we鈥檝e made our union a little more perfect.”
The Hawaii-born president continued:
That鈥檚 the consequence of a decision from the Supreme Court, but, more importantly, it is a consequence of the countless small acts of courage of millions of people across decades who stood up, who came out, who talked to parents 鈥 parents who loved their children no matter what. Folks who were willing to endure bullying and taunts, and stayed strong, and came to believe in themselves and who they were, and slowly made an entire country realize that love is love.
“Love is love,” baby. Word.
You can read here. And you can read here.
Meanwhile, Republican hopefuls trying to succeed the president are condemning the high court’s ruling.
Scott Walker, the governor of Wisconsin, has called for a constitutional amendment to .听Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal will 鈥減ave the way for an all out assault against the religious freedom rights of Christians who disagree with this decision.鈥 And former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee vowed not to 鈥渁cquiesce to an imperial court any more than our Founders acquiesced to an imperial British monarch.鈥
As The Hill reports, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson “had the most tempered” responses: Bush聽said,聽鈥淕uided by my faith, I believe in traditional marriage, I聽believe the Supreme Court should have allowed the states to make this decision.鈥
However, Bush added that he also believes 鈥渨e should love our neighbor and respect others, including those making lifetime commitments.鈥
Here at home,聽here is what Equality Hawaii had to say about Friday’s news:
“We are thankful that two years ago Hawaii chose to be on the right side of history and recognize marriage equality for all of our citizens. We hope that the officials in the remaining 13 states which still have marriage discrimination laws quickly implement marriage equality in their states, insuring freedom and equality for all couples. Same-sex couples and their families have waited long enough for recognition, dignity, and acceptance.”
Equality聽Hawaii is inviting folks to聽聽for a聽“Supreme Court’s Decision Day Party for Marriage Equality,” starting at 5:30聽p.m. Friday.
And, state Rep.听Chris Lee, a leader in the push for gay rights,聽had this to say: “Today we live up to the promise of equal rights that our Constitution guarantees every citizen. Our nation’s divide over marriage equality has come to a close, and we now truly are the United States.鈥
Finally, a sampling of reactions in the Twitterverse:
Retweet to spread the word.
鈥 Barack Obama (@BarackObama)
Chief Justice slams gay marriage ruling: The Constitution “had nothing to do with it” 鈥 The Hill (@thehill)
My staff celebrated this historic ruling at the Supreme Court
鈥 Senator Mazie Hirono (@maziehirono)
reading scalia’s dissent 鈥 Andy Baio (@waxpancake)
A Tale of Two Flags this week.
鈥 Steven Dennis (@StevenTDennis)
The landmark, 5-4 decision on same-sex marriage was authored by Anthony Kennedy | Getty
鈥 POLITICO (@politico)
Historic day. Photo by
鈥 Gene Park (@GenePark)
Double rainbows over the White House.
鈥 Betsey Stevenson (@CEABetsey)
One nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
鈥 Chris Lee (@chrisleeforhi)
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About the Author
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Chad Blair is the politics editor for Civil Beat. You can reach him by email at cblair@civilbeat.org or follow him on Twitter at .