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A landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court Friday has ruled that states cannot ban same-sex marriages.

The ruling was a 5-4 decision.

It gives gay and lesbian couples the same legal right to marry and as different-sex couples while invalidating marriage bans in other states, according to the ruling.

The ruling holds that state marriage bans violate the due process and equal protection provisions of the U.S. Constitution.

In a dissent, Chief Justice Antonin Scalia called the decision a “threat to democracy.”

“The substance of today’s decree is not of immense personal importance to me,” he wrote. “But what really astounds is the hubris reflected in today’s judicial putsch.”

Civil liberty advocates are comparing the decision on the same line as the Brown v. Board of Education decision.

“The Supreme Court today welcomed same-sex couples fully into the American family. Gay and lesbian couples and our families may be at peace knowing that our simple request to be treated like everyone else — that is, to be able to participate in the dignity of marriage — has finally been granted,” said James Esseks, director of the ACLU’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and HIV Project. “Today’s historic victory comes on the backs of same-sex couples and advocates who have worked for decades to dismantle harmful stereotypes and unjust laws in the quest for equal treatment.”

Both state and national lawmakers have already weighed in on the decision.

“Two years ago the Supreme Court insisted that marriage was a policy decision that probably belonged to the states, but today they have imposed a redefinition of marriage nationwide,” Congresswoman Virginia Foxx said. “This decision undermines the ability of states to set public policy within their borders as voters in North Carolina overwhelmingly did in 2012. I’m also extremely concerned about the threat this ruling poses to the conscience rights of people and organizations who believe that marriage is the union of one man and one woman. I will do everything in my power to defend these rights and protect the sacred institution of marriage.”

On Twitter, Franklin Graham, who has ties to Watauga County through Samaritan’s Purse, made his disappointment in the decision apparent.

“With all due respect to (Supreme Court) it did not define marriage and therefore cannot redefine it,” he said.

The court’s decision has also elicited responses from local religious organizations.

“Our denomination and local congregation have been longtime supporters of gay marriage and right to marry,” said church administrator Richard Anderson of Boone Unitarian Universalist. “We are just glad the Supreme Court chose to agree with the way we have felt for a number of years.”

Other Boone residents are also feeling elated following the decision.

“My wife and I are originally from Boone, but we reside in Virginia Beach,” said Kelsie Dotson. “We got married in Maryland almost a year ago. We couldn’t be happier about this decision.”

“The divorce rate between traditional married couples is over 50 percent,” Laura Busse-Shroyer said. “The sacrament of marriage between a man and woman was destroyed a long time ago in this country. Maybe the gay and lesbian community can help us decrease that statistic.”

Others feel the ruling is just another example of “big government” meddling in affairs it shouldn’t.

“I just think the federal government should have left it to the individual states,” Jim Clarke said.

http://www.wataugademocrat.com/watauga/nation-watauga-county-react-to-supreme-court-decision-on-gay/article_c9c772f8-1564-518e-a6da-2176ee1ab914.html