UNITED STATES—The Supreme Court made a historic decision on June 26, with a 5-4 vote declaring same sex marriage as a constitutional right extending to everyone in the United States.

Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote for the majority of judges with the decision stating, “No longer may this liberty be denied. 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 what they were.” President Obama supported the decision, saying that “this decision affirms what millions of Americans already believe in their hearts: that when all Americans are treated as equal, all are free.”

This decision led many states, such as Texas and Alabama, to perform their first legally acknowledged same sex marriage.

There was also dissent towards the decision, with one of the judges, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., declaring his to the entire court. He said that “This court is not a legislature [and] our Constitution does not enact any theory of marriage.” He also described the ruling as an “act of will, not legal judgment.”

Rallies celebrating the decision happened throughout the nation. There was also opposition to the ruling, with the state of Mississippi threatening to deny all people marriage licenses.