In US, same-sex couples rush to the altar after SC 'blessing'

The US Supreme Court legalised gay marriage on Friday in a 5-4 decision, and within hours couples across the country were being issued marriage licenses. 

The landmark ruling says that the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution guarantees gays and lesbians must have the same right to marry as heterosexuals.

Young and old, dressed in gown and suits, the same-sex couples kissed and waved flags that read love wins as they headed to courts to seek licenses and get married.

Same-sex marriage supporters wear just married shirts while celebrating the US Supreme Court ruling regarding same-sex marriage in San Francisco, California. Photograph: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Stacy Wood, and her wife Michele Barr leave San FranciscoCity Hall after getting married in San Francisco, California. Earlier in the day the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the Constitution’s guarantees of due process and equal protection under the law mean that states cannot ban same-sex marriages. Barr and Wood have been together for almost 29 years. “We didn’t realise when we picked this date that it would be such a monumental day for the country,” said Barr. “We just thought the Supreme Court wanted to give us a really great wedding gift. Now we just need to know where to send the thank you card.” Photograph: Elijah Nouvelage/Reuters

Rodrigo Zamora (left) and Ashby Hardesty exit the New York City clerks office after their wedding in Manhattan in New York. Hardesty and Zamora waited until the Supreme Court decision before getting married to each other. They were engaged two years ago at the Stonewall Inn the last time the US Supreme Court decided on same sex marriage. Photograph: Brendan McDermid/Reuters

Jayne Rowse (left) and her partner April DeBoer show their commitment rings during a rally to celebrate the US Supreme Court’s landmark ruling of legalizing gay marriage nationwide, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Photograph: Rebecca Cook/Reuters

Marge Eide (left), 77, and Ann Sorrell, 78, a same-sex couple for over forty years, are married by Washtenaw County Circuit Court Judge Carol Kuhnke in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Photograph: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images