5:4

I had decided early on that no matter what SCOTUS’s ruling was on both cases that it was important to remember that we had made a lot of great strides. We may have set backs but that does not mean that we will not continue to fight. But the truth is, in spite of all of that, I was still on the edge of my seat watching the SCOTUS blog live blogging the ruling’s decision. By seven Pacific Standard Time the ruling was in… the Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional. The exact wording according to SCOTUS blog:

DOMA is unconstitutional as a deprivation of the equal liberty of persons that is protected by the Fifth Amendment

What this means in it’s simplest terms is that legally married same-sex individuals will now be recognized Federally under the law.

In a similar vote, the Supreme Court also announced it would not be ruling on Proposition 8 because the proponents who had defended the case in the CA Supreme Court did not have the legal authority to do so. Basically meaning that same-sex marriage will return to California after nearly five very long years of debate and controversy.

It’s worth noting of course that none of this makes same-sex marriage a constitutional right on a federal basis and therefore it’s still at the whim of states to decide whether or not they wish to allow it. It also means that theoretically there can still be challenges in the future as to the meaning of SCOTUS’s decision with regards to Prop 8, however for the time being these are historic decisions that pave the way for bigger and better things to come.

I confess that while I’m proud of today’s decision, it does not diminish the fact that yesterday’s decision was an unfortunate step back. In Justice Ginsburg’s own words: “Hubris is a fit word for today’s demolition of the VRA.”