--- title: Gay Marriage US Supreme Court Ruling: 7 Memorable Passages description: "No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family" canonical: https://time.com/3937570/supreme-court-gay-marriage-memorable/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-06-26T15:07:12.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-05T08:23:11.334Z article:section: Politics og:title: Read the 7 Most Memorable Passages in the Gay Marriage Decision og:description: "No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love." og:url: https://time.com/3937570/supreme-court-gay-marriage-memorable/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6b38ea1f8e2c3ff7/698858913c1639155945894b/gay-marriage2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Gay Marriage US Supreme Court Ruling og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Read the 7 Most Memorable Passages in the Gay Marriage Decision twitter:description: "No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6b38ea1f8e2c3ff7/698858913c1639155945894b/gay-marriage2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Read the 7 Most Memorable Passages in the Gay Marriage Decision > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=32ce541a-f852-43c1-953b-e623d8120c11&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Supreme Court Rules In Favor Of Same-Sex Marriage [Watch (HLS stream): Supreme Court Rules In Favor Of Same-Sex Marriage](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Nk2XaZ1m.m3u8) (1:25)  _Published 2015-06-26. The Supreme Court delivered a ruling in favor of same-sex marriage, saying it is a constitutional right and opening the door for marriage nationally._ by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Jun 26, 2015 3:07 PM UTC by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Jun 26, 2015 3:07 PM UTC Supreme Court rulings are typically dry legalistic documents, but Friday’s [decision recognizing gay marriage nationwide](http://time.com/3937244/supreme-court-gay-marriage-decision/) was more lyrical than most. Here are some of the most memorable passages from the majority opinion authored by Justice Anthony Kennedy. **He begins by describing the importance of** **marriage** --- > “” --- **He tells the love story of the main plaintiff** --- > “” --- **He gives a short but powerful description of why people marry** --- > “” --- **He argues that barring same-sex marriage harms couples** --- > “” --- **He explains how a ruling would affect all of the plaintiffs** --- > “” --- **He concludes by again explaining the importance of marriage** --- > “” --- **And he reverses the lower-court decision, recognizing gay marriage across the nation** --- > “” --- ### See Scenes of Celebration After Supreme Court Gay Marriage Ruling  Supporters of same-sex marriage celebrate outside of the Supreme Court in Washington, on June 26, 2015. Jacquelyn Martin—AP  Supporters of same-sex marriage celebrate outside of the Supreme Court in Washington, on June 26, 2015. Mladen Antonov—AFP/Getty Images  Gay rights supporters celebrate after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the U.S. Constitution provides same-sex couples the right to marry, outside the Supreme Court building in Washington, June 26, 2015. Jim Bourg—Reuters  Supporters of same-sex marriage celebrate outside of the Supreme Court in Washington, on June 26, 2015. Jim Lo Scalzo—EPA  John Becker, right, hugs his friend and fellow LGBT advocate Paul Guequierre, outside the Supreme Court in Washington on June 26, 2015. Jacquelyn Martin—AP  Supporters of same-sex marriage celebrate outside of the Supreme Court in Washington, on June 26, 2015. Jim Bourg—Reuters  Supporters of same-sex marriage celebrate outside of the Supreme Court in Washington, on June 26, 2015. Mladen Antonov—AFP/Getty Images  Supporters of same-sex marriage celebrate outside of the Supreme Court in Washington, on June 26, 2015. Manuel Balce Ceneta—AP ## Transcript In one of the most anticipated decisions of the year, the U. S. supreme court ruled in favor of same sex marriage. The Justices heard arguments on two issues: whether same sex marriage is a constitutional right and if not, do states have to recognize same marriages performed in other states? Those questions come from challenges To gay marriage bans in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee. This means same- sex marriage is legal across the country, and states with bans in place have to reverse course. What do we have? Equality! When did we get it? Now! The decision is a big win for same- sex marriage advocates. And it comes two years after the Supreme Court struck down a significant part of the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA. There are currently 36 states and the District of Columbia that allow same- sex marriages, whether they enacted those policies on their own, or were forced to by federal court rulings. 14 states still have bans. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3937570/supreme-court-gay-marriage-memorable/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3937570/supreme-court-gay-marriage-memorable/"},"headline":"Read the 7 Most Memorable Passages in the Gay Marriage Decision","datePublished":"2015-06-26T15:07:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-05T08:23:11.334Z","description":"\"No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family\"","url":"https://time.com/3937570/supreme-court-gay-marriage-memorable/","keywords":["Supreme Court","Gay Marriage"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6b38ea1f8e2c3ff7/698858913c1639155945894b/gay-marriage2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ryan Teague Beckwith","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6b38ea1f8e2c3ff7/698858913c1639155945894b/gay-marriage2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Gay Marriage US Supreme Court Ruling","caption":"Gay Marriage US Supreme Court Ruling","creditText":"Alex Wong—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/supreme-court/","name":"Supreme Court"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3937570/supreme-court-gay-marriage-memorable/","name":"Read the 7 Most Memorable Passages in the Gay Marriage Decision"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The Supreme Court On Marriage Equality","description":"The Supreme Court Honors Marriage Equality","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/63b4f7cw/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-06-26T20:37:26.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/63b4f7cw.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3937570/supreme-court-gay-marriage-memorable/","duration":"PT1M23S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3937570/supreme-court-gay-marriage-memorable/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Supreme Court Rules In Favor Of Same-Sex Marriage","description":"The Supreme Court delivered a ruling in favor of same-sex marriage, saying it is a constitutional right and opening the door for marriage nationally.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/Nk2XaZ1m/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-06-26T14:43:09.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Nk2XaZ1m.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3937570/supreme-court-gay-marriage-memorable/","duration":"PT1M25S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3937570/supreme-court-gay-marriage-memorable/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```