On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide. Here’s what some of the young people gathered outside the court had to say, both before and after the decision.
Before the decision
“My two best friends at home are gay, and I’m really pro-gay marriage and hoping they rule in favor of gay marriage.”
-Madison DeRose, 19, Irvington, NY, Dartmouth University
“I’m here as an ally for the LGBTQ community, supporting what I believe is a basic human right.” -Allison Press, 22, Chapel Hill NC, NC State University.
“I have relatives who are gay or bisexual and I want them to be able to have the same rights that I do.” -Jessica Harlan, 32, Mobile Alabama, University of South Alabama
“We want to let the states decide what marriage is…The Constitution doesn’t say anything about marriage.”
-Kristen Brannon, DC
“I’m thinking of the Tenth Amendment right now…Leave big decisions left to the people.”
-Chris Gavrielidis, Alliance Defending Freedom, Boston
“We ditched our class to come here, because we think it’s a big point in history and we’re hoping for the right decision…We want gay marriage to pass.”
-Anne Pavlis, 20, Chicago
“I’m from Michigan so we had our own state [law]… It would be interesting to go back and see how it changes, see people be happy.”
-Allana Akhtat, 20, University of Michigan
“We were here two years ago when they struck down DOMA and we got married the following November…We’re hoping that the rest of the country can experience what we experienced that November…And Oliver [their dog] was at our wedding.”
-Mike Glasser, Washington, DC
After the decision
“For me it’s like I’ve had so many positive influences in my life who are in same-sex relationships…Now they will be recognized throughout the country and have the benefits they deserve…So I’m really moved by this today.” -Elise Egan, 26
“My sister-in-laws are married, so this is really exciting. They’re getting ready to have a baby, so I hope the trend keeps continuing.” -Erin Lombard, 26
“I think it’s really moving how diverse the crowd is here…I think it’s important we’re all standing in the same place celebrating the same victory and that the mood is so positive and people are so happy about it.” -Samantha Luffy, 25
“We’re definitely disappointed in the ruling today, and this decision won’t end the discussion on marriage.”
-Haley Barinowski
“I looked it up and 31 states have voted that way, so my reaction is I don’t think the courts have the right to decide for the states…They need to respect the will of the voters.”
-Brent Keilen
“Obviously this is a ruling that is going to be detrimental…Similar to this is the abortion ruling and it wasn’t good for us at all. We see children do best with one man and one woman.”
-Joshua Denton
