"I applaud the nation's highest court for recognizing what we, as Democrats, have long struggled for: equality for members of the gay and lesbian communities. The decision today finally strikes down the narrow-minded bias some states have held against same sex couples to love whom they choose and celebrate that love through marriage.
"From coast-to-coast, it means children of these couples will have the protections afforded heterosexual couples. It means spouses will no longer be shunned from the legal rights of heterosexual unions. It means these couples are entitled to the same dignity as heterosexual ones. And it means the Court has finally affirmed that gays and lesbians are guaranteed the same Constitutional protections as everyone else."