6/26/2015 update:
美國最高法院今日作出最終判決，同性婚姻合乎聯邦憲法，全美50州必須承認同性婚姻。
最高法院是以5比4的票數，作出同性婚姻合法化的判決。負責此案的法官甘迺迪(Anthony Kennedy)在28頁的判決書中表示，同性伴侶要求在法律之前，與異性伴侶同等的權利與尊嚴，最高法院決定賦予他們這些權利。 在過去廿年來，支持和反對同性婚姻的雙方通過不同的法律程序和條文遊戲在法庭上爭取自己的權利，勝負難分難解。1998年至2012年期間，全美有30個州通過法案禁止同性婚姻。2003年至2013年期間，多個州亦開始通過下級法庭推翻同性婚姻禁令，將同性婚姻合法化。 2013年6月23日，最高法院對「聯邦婚姻保護法」作出歷史性裁決，以5比4的投票結果判定「聯邦婚姻保護法」定義婚姻為「一男一女」的條文違憲。該判決結果改變了美國社會以異性婚姻為骨幹的結構文化，迫使聯邦政府在法律認定、稅務優惠、福利措施上賦予同性戀伴侶和異性戀夫妻相同的權利。同年6月26日，最高法院在「聯邦婚姻保護法」違憲的基礎上，推翻了加州反同性婚姻的「8號提案」，使加州成為全美第13個同性婚姻合法的州，同時開始頒發同性結婚證書。
In a landmark opinion, a divided Supreme Court on Friday ruled that same-sex couples can marry nationwide, establishing a new civil right and handing gay rights advocates a historic victory.
“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 once they were. As some of the petitioners in these cases demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death. It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves. Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization’s oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right. The judgment of the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit is reversed. It is so ordered.”
