The United States Supreme Court has lifted bans on same-sex marriage in over a dozen states, bestowing gay and lesbian couples countrywide the right to marry.
Same sex couples could already marry in 36 U.S. states and the District of Columbia but the latest ruling would force the remaining 14 states in the South and Midwest to lift bans on homosexual marriages, reported Fox News.
The ruling marked an end to the two decade-long Supreme Court litigation over marriage, and gay rights generally.
The decision was hailed by U.S. President Barack Obama as a "big step in our march toward equality".
Celebrations broke out outside the court as the verdict was announced.
The apex court was hearing cases involving laws from Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee that defined marriage as the union of a man and a woman.