US supreme court backs same-sex marriage

The Supreme Court has declared that same-sex couples have a right to marry anywhere in the US.

Gay and lesbian couples could already marry in 36 states and the district of Columbia. The court’s 5-4 ruling means the remaining 14 states, in the south and midwest, must stop enforcing bans on same-sex marriage.

The outcome is the culmination of two decades of Supreme Court litigation over marriage, and gay rights generally.