Hooray and hallelujah
"No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were.
As some of the petitioners in these cases demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death. It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves. Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilizations’ oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law.
The Constitution grants them that right. The judgment of the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit is reversed. It is so ordered."
Justice Anthony Kennedy
June 28, 2015
"Marriage is a fundamental human right. Same-sex couples should have the same access as others to the protections, responsibilities, rights, obligations and benefits of civil marriage. Stable family relationships help build a stronger society.
For the welfare of the community and in fairness to all New Yorkers, this act formally recognizes otherwise-valid marriages without regard to whether the parties are of the same or different sex. It is the intent of the legislature that marriages of same-sex and different-sex couples be treated equally in all respects under the law."
Excerpt from the NY State Marriage Equality Act
June 24, 2011
