On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of marriage equality, striking down bans on same-sex marriage across the country.
The historic 5-4 decision marked one of the biggest milestones (if not the biggest) in the U.S. LGBT rights movement. People all over the country had some major feelings about this, to say the least.
The on-the-ground reactions from outside the court and near LGBT landmarks are priceless and filled with pure joy.
This shot, taken just outside the court, captures the moment when news of the ruling worked its way back through the crowd.
Photo by Mladen Antonov/AFP/Getty Images.
Here, a group of men hug outside New York's Stonewall Inn, the site of the famous 1969 Stonewall Riots, an event many people look to as the start of the modern LGBT rights movement.
Photo by Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images.
Of course, the decision was met with its fair share of statements by big-name public figures.
The White House jumped on board with a really cool timeline of marriage progress.
President Obama addressed the Supreme Court decision, calling it a "victory for America."
Vice President Biden also tweeted a short statement in celebration.
But Jim Obergefell, the actual plaintiff in this monumental case, said it best — "Our love is equal."
The Internet became very, very, very rainbow-heavy — and that's awesome.
George Takei summed it up best.
And Betsey Stevenson with Obama's Council of Economic Advisers tweeted a picture of actual double rainbows over the White House (taken last week but, in Betsey's words, "a nice image for today's celebration").
Major LGBT rights organizations were quick to offer statements in celebration.
"Today feels like a wedding that the entire country was invited to, and the whole PFLAG family is right up front with hearts overflowing and tears in our eyes," PFLAG National Board President Jean Hodges said in a statement. "By affirming the rights of all loving couples to commit to each other with the full weight of legal protection that marriage affords, the Supreme Court has affirmed a founding principle that we must all continue to strive for: a more perfect union."
"By affirming the rights of all loving couples to commit to each other with the full weight of legal protection that marriage affords, the Supreme Court has affirmed a founding principle that we must all continue to strive for: a more perfect union."
— Jean Hodges, PFLAG
"Today, love prevailed and our nation became a more perfect union by affirming that all people are indeed created equal and justice belongs to everyone," says Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD. "With this decision, loving and committed same-sex couples can finally rest knowing their families are protected and their dignity is no longer up for public debate."
"Today's ruling is a transformative triumph decades in the making, a momentous victory for freedom, equality, inclusion, and above all, love," Evan Wolfson of Freedom to Marry says. "For anyone who ever doubted that we could bend the arc of the moral universe toward justice, today the United States again took a giant step toward the more perfect union we the people aspire to. Today the Liberty Bell rings alongside wedding bells across an ocean of joy."
But some of the best reactions weren't from celebrities or politicians, but from regular people.
Some folks immediately got to sending out their invitations.
This is adorable.
There were reminders that for so many this decision comes long after it should have.
But most of all, it's a reminder that love is love.
Good job, Supreme Court. You got this one so very right. And congratulations to all the soon-to-be newlyweds out there.
Photo by Mladen Antonov/AFP/Getty Images.
