Today has been a truly historic day for marriage equality activists with the Supreme Court’s ruling against DOMA and Calfornia’s controversial Proposition 8 . During a flight on Air Force One Wednesday, President Obama called the Prop 8 plaintiffs to offer them his congratulations.
President Obama was in transit when the Supreme Court ruled both the Defense of Marriage Act and Proposition 8 unconstitutional, and placed a call to Kris Perry and Sandy Stier, the plaintiffs in the Prop 8 case, to congratulate them on their victory.
“You guys should be very proud today for your courage,” Obama told the couple while Chad Griffin of the Human Rights Commission held the cellphone.
“I hope you have a great celebration.” One of the lawyers nearby quipped, “You’re invited to the wedding.”
Today is a landmark day for LGBT activists around the country, as it marks the end of the Defense of Marriage Act and the likely overturning of California’s Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage.
Decisions on both cases from the Supreme Court are long awaited, and they set the table for marriage equality to be legalized in more states.
Though many states have already chosen to recognize homosexual civil unions as marriages, DOMA prevented such recognition on a federal level. While you could legally claim to be married in your home state, you were unable to reap the benefits enjoyed by heterosexual married couples provided by the fed.
While DOMA’s defeat doesn’t automatically give way to gay marriage’s nationwide legalization, it allows the federal government to recognize same-sex marriages in states where they have been made legal.
You can watch President Obama’s congratulatory call to Prop 8’s plaintiffs below:
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[Image via: Agnieszka Lobodzinska / Shutterstock ]
