Highlights of the Supreme Court’s historic gay rights decision

The U.S. Supreme Court handed down a long-awaited decision on Friday, guaranteeing same-sex couples the right to marry. The victory for gay rights advocates is now enshrined in a landmark 5-4 ruling (PDF), for which Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote the majority opinion, with four separate dissenting opinions expressing harsh and even emotional criticism of a resounding legal milestone culminating over 20 years of court battles.

Below are some of the most notable passages from Kennedy's opinion, in addition to excerpts from the dissents by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito: