It's 10am do you know where your Supreme Court is?

[Dave (imported)]

The Court has found that there is an absolute right to marriage equality in the USA under the Constitution.

In a few weeks, the Decision will be published and will be the law of the land.

10:08am on June26, 2015.

[devi (imported)]

"Same sex" marriage is now legal in all states (-not sure about Puerto Rico). There have never been just two sexes. Never. But to have grouped them into two and then to make those that could never be either to abide by being either a child bearing woman or else a sperm laden man had had always been a major travesty!

[Dave (imported)]

The Supreme Court decision and the laws of the USA reach to all of the USA's territories and possessions.

So yes,Puerto Rico is included.

[C&TL2745 (imported)]

I'm wondering now how this will play out for the transgendered. If a man can marry either a man or a woman, and a woman can marry either a man or a woman, it seems logical that someone who has changed gender should be able to marry either a man or a woman, because whichever sex the state decides it wants to classify the person as, he or she has the right to marry a person of either sex. I suppose it will take time before that's fully established legally, but I see momentum in that direction. The non-binary cases may be more murky, but the US seems inexorably headed in the direction of "any two adults who want to marry can." It's going to be an interesting next year or two, especially with the presidential election coming up in 2016. I imagine candidates are already trying to figure out what to say about all this.

Sandi

[Dave (imported)]

I have something to say about the transgender community but I will say it in its own Forum.

[Paolo]

And every divorce lawyer in the country just had an orgasm.

[Losethem (imported)]

It's a victory. Now we have to figure out what is going to happen with all these Religious "freedom" (read: gay Jim Crow) laws that are popping up. My take - if you're a civil servant you serve secular society. You will marry whomever comes before you, not whomever comes before you so long as they agree with your particular religious views. We already have 3 State atty generals saying they won't abide by this ruling and that their state laws still stand. Guess they don't understand the federal supremacy clause.

--LT

[Dave (imported)]

The way a Supreme Court decision takes place is that it is announced on a morning and then the staff prepares an order. I don't know if that has to be done in 10 days or 30 days. The order goes out to all the Federal Courts first -- the nine appeals court and the circuit courts beneath them.

Those courts have the responsibility to issue the order to any party with a case in their jurisdiction.

So there are several states that the US Supreme Court told to wait for this decision, this will establish the results in those cases as each court (circuit and appeals) issues a decision in line with the Supreme Court decision.

Many states will fall into that category. Once they receive the lower court's transmission, they must comply.

Any state official that defies that order can be immediately hauled into a court and will lose. There is no defense to it. I can see individual clerks trying to defy the order but any court of the land will order their compliance.

So I see some States as delaying their "official" decision but not succeeding.

Remember that this is a finding of the Supreme Court under the 14th Amendment and that makes it very hard to defy. While we might still have some form of "Jim Crow" as you call it with the Segregation and discrimination laws, the harshest "Jim Crow" laws are gone.

[Riverwind (imported)]

The decision came down just after 10 am, then red states who have fought this notified the press that Marriage was open for business in there state. It came from all over the country. What a great couple days in the news. more on that later.

Did anybody watch the president today give his speech, I know were not to talk politics however I think this is important, at the end he sang. If you did not watch that today do yourself a favor and tune it in. Some times we see Amazing things happen, today was one of those days. Its been one of those 10 days in history that become a turning point, I think this is what we just had.

River

[devi (imported)]

I imagine there will be a certain amount of difficulty in plenty of county court houses obtaining a "same sex" marriage plus the ridicule, intimidation and delaying tactics for a very long time to come. But this IS a start.