0 redefine marriage. >> i don't think anyone thinks the whole issue of same-sex marriage throughout the united states is over. but, tony, as far as california is concerned, the largest state in the united states, gay couples will now be allowed to get married in california, based on what the justices of the supreme court decided today, right? >> well, it's unclear what has to happen from this point. but i would note that in 2000 and 2008, voters in california voted twice. so i think this certainly is a rejection of the voters of california who have twice gone to the polls to uphold the natural definition of marriage. so they've completely ignored them as we can tell from the decision at present. but again, in this case, the court could have gone much further and struck down the -- these marriage amendments, which are in 30 states. they did not do that. this only applies to california and how it's going to be implemented we don't yet know as we are still combing through the opinion. >> tony perkins and reverend muller, thanks to both of you for your weighing in on these historic decisions today by the justices of the supreme court. let's go back to the supreme court. jake tapper is covering this historic day for us there. >> it is historic indeed, wolf. while same-sex marriage supporters have been given big victories, we should take a moment, i think, to talk with our legal experts about what they did do and what they did not do today. because today was not a ruling saying same-sex marriage is the law of the land. >> correct. the doma decision is an immense victory for the same-sex rights -- same-sex marriage supporters. no doubt about that. that will change the lives of thousands of married people in the 12 states where it's legal. on the proposition 8 case, the court could have said all 50 states have to have same-sex marriage tomorrow. the justices did not say that. they certainly appeared to open the door to same-sex marriages resuming in california, but the other 38 states are not yet affected by this decision, although it certainly does look like the court is moving in the direction of saying that courts -- that everybody has the right to get married. >> jonathan turley, final thoughts on tho decision on dom sweeping, and you get the sense that the justices felt history. with regard to proposition 8, it's more of a victory by default. the only thing living after this opinion is the original order of the district court, which presumably could still be enforced. what is really good news is they make it very difficult for the proponents of proposition 8 to get standing for the next round of litigation. and as we look down the road -- >> you would have to be a governor or an attorney general. >> that's exactly right. >> you say good news, you mean good news if you support same-sex marriage. >> yeah, right, if you support same-sex marriage, that's right. >> and so, you would have to be a governor or attorney general. right now the attorney general and governor in california are democrats, and they are supportive of same-sex marriage. they do not want to bring an end to the law being struck down, the ban being struck down. >> right. the only other option would be to pass a state law that gives an individual, a third party, the right to represent the state in this type of litigation. >> we'll have much more on this decision, and, of course, a lot of other breaking news going on this morning. i'm going to go back to ashleigh banfield. ashleigh, throwing to you. hello, everyone. i'm ashleigh banfield. we have a very busy show ahead. a lot of news breaking today in the george zimmerman case, aaron hn hernandez, and, of course, everything happening at the u.s. supreme court. we have all of those stories coming your way live. in the meantime, history making in the -- look at that. that is jubilation, folks. supporters and opponents and the media and the masses, all gathered here today at the supreme court. the justices just gave their blessing to same-sex marriage, and millions of lives have changed from this day forward. also, aaron hernandez just released by the new england patriots football team after being taken into custody like this. by plainclothes police. and graphic testimony. so graphic, in fact, crime scene photos so gruesome, that trayvon martin's mother had to turn away. his father had to leave the courtroom. so much to talk about. only three days into george zimmerman's murder trial. all of that coming up in just a moment. first off, though, today a historic moment when it comes to the rights of millions of americans. the supreme court said "yes," yes to same-sex marriage this morning, repealing both doma, the defense of marriage act, and proposition 8 in the state of california. president obama, who is right now on air force one, on his way to his african tour, was quick to put out this tweet. have a look at this. today's doma ruling is a historic step forward for marriage equality, love is love. there you have it. melissa etheridge joins me live now on the telephone from new york. melissa, it's no secret that you have been not only married yourself, but you have four children. this has been a very big case for you. this has been almost life's work for you. i want to get your initial reactions to hearing these decisions today. >> oh, love is love and america is beautiful. it's a wonderful day. it's a wonderful day for america, for all its citizens, and for our amazing constitution. and just, you know, god bless america and the forefathers that put this sort of document in place that could withstand this sort of questioning and this sort of putting to test of our diversity in america, and our civil rights. it's just an amazing, amazing day. i'm proud to be an american. >> so at the same time, melissa, yes, this means federal recognition for anyone who's in a same-sex marriage in the states where that's recognized. but there are dozens of states that do not recognize. so while it's a great day, there's still a very big battle ahead, isn't there? >> oh, of course. and this is -- this has been ongoing -- i've been waving this banner for 20 years. so it's ongoing, and as we grow as a civilization, as a culture, as the fear of the other gets less, as people understand what same-sex marriage and love is, and as we have families, and we're your neighbors, and you work with us, and you understand that we are family, and we're a part of this america, those old fears grow old and they will die away. and maybe it will take another 20 years. but i can feel the momentum. i can feel the movement in the direction towards liberty and freedom. and that's what we're about in america. and it's, again, over 200-year-old american experiment is still working. it's a beautiful thing. >> so, melissa, to your point about this being a 20-year battle for you, and what you consider the civil rights and the equal protection under the law for gay and straight people, i just want to read for you one of the most recent polls about what americans feel when it comes to this issue. should marriages between gays or lesbian couples be recognized as valid? 55% say yes. 44% say no. i want to beam us all back to 1978 when 53% of those who were asked if homosexual relationships between consenting adults was morally wrong, they thought, yes, at that time. that's 1978. do you think we've made the kinds of strides that we should have in that amount of time, or are we on sort of an exponential curve when it comes to recognition of this as a right? >> oh, i think we're moving along quite well. i think it has taken us as homosexuals to accept ourselves. it takes a lot for an individual to say, okay, i'm growing up, i'm a teenager, i'm a young adult, and i am indifferent to what the social norms say. in the '80s, it was very, very difficult for us to stand up and go, wait a minute, no, i'm not -- i'm not a criminal, i'm not insane. i'm not mentally ill. i love someone else, and they happen to be the same sex. and it takes each gay person to come to that inside themselves, and it's still a problem. it's still a problem within each, you know, individual. and as that comes easy -- as that becomes easier and easier for an individual to understand their own homosexuality, then they can stand in their community, they can stand in their family and say, i'm a good person, i am a contributing citizen to this family, to this community, to the state, to this country. and i'm a strong part of the social fabric. and once that person becomes that, that's -- that's contagious. and it goes all around. and so, that's what we've seen, is our community get stronger. and so, then, our brothers and sisters who might not think they know a gay person, and, wait a minute, you know, that's joe down the street, he's a good guy. i don't see any reason why he shouldn't get married, that sort of thing is what changes our nation and our world. >> well, when you mention family, you've got four conversations that i'm sure you're going to be having today with your four kids. i congratulate you, and good luck to you with your family as you navigate through this newness. >> well, it is about family, and i love my four kids. i called my -- well, now my fiancee. i'm looking forward to marrying my partner of three years. we've been together. and i'm going to get married in the state of california. i woke them up this morning telling them that the supreme court ruling on doma, and i'm so proud of my daughter bailey, my son beckett, johnny rose, miller, i love you all. i love everybody out there. it's great day. thank you so much. >> best wishes to you and your fiancee and your children, as you move through -- >> yes, thank you. >> -- today's decision. thanks, melissa. this decision will have a big, big impact on not only melissa, but a lot of people. especially the benefits that same-sex couples have not been receiving so far, like income tax benefits, health benefits, estate tax benefits. literally millions and millions of dollars that have been denied to gay people up until now, had they been married. our justice correspondent joe johns is live with us outside the courthouse right now with all of the energy in action behind you. just take me there and give me the feel for what it's like where you are right now. >> reporter: pretty extraordinary moment here, quite frankly, ashleigh. if you look around, these people have been here, many of them, since quite early in the morn g morning. there were cheers when i walked out of the courtroom. inside the courtroom, just a powerful, electric moment, i think, is the best way to describe it. the courtroom filled, as usual, in the front with all of the suits. the legal types and so on, the bureaucrats. but in the back, young people in summer clothes and flip-flops, who -- some of whom had stayed here all night long just to get an opportunity to come in and hear what the court had to say. on the bench, when justice anthony kennedy was reading the majority opinion, there was an audible gasp when he stated that the defense of marriage act was, in fact, unconstitutional. a gasp, a squeal, however you want to call it. it came from the back of the room, one of those many people who had been here for so long to try to get in. i think otherwise, on the bench itself, very little reaction or emotion from any of the justices. obviously, they're very familiar with this decision that was read today. with the notable exception of justice clarence thomas, who curiously chewed gum almost throughout the entire proceedings today. the other thing that was very interesting, ashleigh, and you haven't heard much about it, was justice antonin scalia's dissent, which was absolutely scathing from the bench. he really went after the proponents of gay marriage, and, in part, attacking the majority for the type of language it used and the proponents of gay marriage have used in this fight to get the defense of marriage act overturned. and as you know, ashleigh, that's very interesting simply because justice scalia, of all the nine on the bench, is the one who has the way with words and the sharp language he uses in his opinions. so just a fascinating day here at the united states supreme court, ashleigh. >> and yet another dissent from the bench. we're getting that all week long. this is a big, big week, and a lot of heat and energy. a great job reporting from out there, joe johns. a lot of information coming down the pike. we're not finished our coverage on this. i'm going to let joe go, and we'll check in with jeffrey toobin later on in the hour. more analysis to this decision, the reaction, and the future implications of the decision. that's coming up. we have other breaking news. a dramatic turn of events playing out in the boston area. new england patriots tight end aaron hernandez led out of his own home in handcuffs by plainclothes police officers, and not just a few. you see two in your screen. there are about a dozen of them there. this happened in north attleboro within minutes of his arrest, more bad news. the patriots team announced that they released him. susan candiotti joins us live now in attleboro. so give me a feel for where we stand in this process right now. i know he was headed for the arraignment. is he still in there, or is it over? >> reporter: no, we understand he is still at the police department, ashleigh, at this hour, even though he was arrested oh, just before 9:00 this morning. so more than two hours ago. he's at the police department. all we have is the official notification he has been arrested and that the ra arranment will take place where we are standing. he was arrested where we are, north attleborough, and will be taken to the district courthouse, the standard procedure here in attleborough. it's a short distance away. we don't know at this hour whether he has been able to meet with his lawyers at the police department. we've reached out repeatedly to them, but have had no comment from them. all we know is that when his first arraignment is over, and that's what will happen next, when the arraignment first appearance is over, then the district attorney, who has been in charge of this investigation from bristol county, will have something to say to the news media. so until then, we don't know what the charge is. but what a scene it was this morning just before 9:00 a.m., when he was led out of his house, plainclothes officers going up to the front door, and just inside the front door, when the door opened, the handcuffs were placed on him. he was led out. his arms cuffed behind his back, beneath a white t-shirt. he was wearing shorts. and he spit as he was being walked to the squad car, and then he was driven away. of course, all of this is part of an ongoing murder investigation into the shooting death of odin lloyd. lloyd is a friend of aaron hernandez. according to their own family members, the sister of aaron hernandez and the sister of the victim in this case, or rather the girlfriends of both, were sisters. and so, that is one thing that connects them. and so, occasionally, they also went out together. the body of odin lloyd was found less than a mile from aaron hernandez's house. it is a short distance from there. hernandez's house has been searched at least twice in connection with this. just a few days ago, we saw them bringing several bags out of the house with undisclosed items of evidence. ashleigh? >> susan, i'm still curious, though. he hasn't been charged yet. we don't know what the charges are. we don't know if perhaps it's murder or obstruction or something else. and yet, the patriots saw fit right away to cut ties with the man they were prepared to pay for five years $40 million just last year. do they know something we don't know? >> reporter: that's right. well, that may be possible, of course. we've been talking to them since the beginning of all of this, but they did release a statement. so here's how it reads. quote, a young man was murdered last week, and we extend our sympathies to the family and friends who mourn his loss. words cannot express the disappointment we feel knowing that one of our players was arrested as a result of this investigation. we realize that law enforcement investigators -- or, rather, investigations -- sorry, lost my place there -- into this matter are ongoing. we support their efforts and respect the process. we believe that those the right then to do. that's what their statement says. by the way, ashleigh, i also had a chance to speak with the sister of the victim in this case. her reaction to news of the arrest, even knowing without the charge is, she said, "god is good." she has said consistently throughout this that, i don't know whether he had anything to do with it, but at least we think, anyway, he knew something about what led to this. back to you, ashleigh. >> all right, susan candiotti reporting live for us from north attleboro. thank you. let us know if and when you hear the specifics on the charges. we've got so much more, a lot of breaking news today. not the least of which the george zimmerman second-degree murder trial. coming up, photos you have not seen. evidence you have not seen. but you know all about this legendary evidence. we've got more coming up in a moment. ♪ norfolk southern what's your function? ♪ ♪ hooking up the country helping business run ♪ ♪ build! we're investing big to keep our country in the lead. ♪ load! we keep moving to deliver what you need. and that means growth, lots of cargo going all around the globe. cars and parts, fuel and steel, peas and rice, hey that's nice! ♪ norfolk southern what's your function? ♪ ♪ helping this big country move ahead as one ♪ ♪ norfolk southern how's that function? ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] if you can't stand the heat, get off the test track. get the mercedes-benz you've been burning for at the summer event, going on now at your 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[ male announcer ] now get 50% off brake pads and shoes at meineke. 17-year-old trayvon martin, face down in the grass, his body lifeless and the skittles and that fruit drink that he bought less than an hour before, still in his pockets. these are photos of the evidence from that moment, and they were shown to the jury yesterday in the george zimmerman murder trial. the neighborhood watchman who killed him, he says in self-defense. all of this was just too much for trayvon's mother and father, both of whom eventually left the courtroom after several images had been shown. also shown to the court, that much-talked-about hoodie. and there you have it. you've heard of it, seen a photo of it. that is the actual evidence from that night, the one that trayvon was wearing the night he was shot in the chest. also, photos of the injuries that george zimmerman says he sustained at the hands of trayvon martin. and we're starting to hear from those who witnessed the struggle between these two in that rainy darkness outside of that condo complex. we're hearing from more of them today, in fact. we're looking at all angles of this trial. i want to start with our george howell, live in sanford, florida. this has been a busy day in court. give me a summary as to everything we've been hearing so far this morning. >> reporter: well, ashleigh, absolutely. very emotional for people in the courtroom. emotional for trayvon martin's parents. you could see sybrina fulton tearing up as she heard the testimony of these witnesses. what we're hearing today, these are people who lived in the neighborhood. right now, on the stand, you see jeannie manalo. she said she heard howling noises and looked outside and saw two people on the ground. we also heard a very similar story from jane surdyka. she said she basically opened her bedroom window, heard two distinct voices, and then she called 911. keep this in mind. very important for the prosecution, because they are relying on these witnesses to help them determine -- to help jurors decide -- who was screaming on that 911 audio. was it george zimmerman? or was it younger trayvon martin? now, when you hear surdyka's account of this, she said she heard two voices, and one of them seemed to be a younger voice. she thought the voice of a young boy. i want you to listen to this 911 call. >> -- looking out my window, like my backyard, and someone's yelling and screaming, help. and i heard like a pop noise. and they both are still out there right now. i don't know what's going on. >> i can tell you right now you're not the only person that's calling. we already have one officer on scene and another on the way. >> oh, good. oh, my god, i see the person right now. i see him, like be walking. there's a man coming out, people coming out with flashlights. oh, my god. i don't know what he did to this person. >> reporter: the tension in that voice, the distress that you hear, that's what people are hearing in this courtroom right now. but in cross-examination, i do want to point out that the defense attorneys made the point that it's impossible for this witness to determine anything, because she didn't see it, determine who was screaming, to determine the age of the person without seeing them. so the defense is definitely trying to, you know, basically tear down this concept that a person can determine who was screaming without seeing it, ashleigh. >> well, and it was a dark and rainy and fearful night. you could hear the fear in her voice, and you could see the tears on the stand. george howell in sanford, florida, live for us. thank you. i want to remind you you can watch the zimmerman trial live as it happens on our sister network hln. i want to bring back our cnn analyst paul callen and also danny savilas. paul, let me start with you. to the testimony that we've just been hearing about who it was screaming, you could hear jane surdyka talk about not only in the court, but sometimes even on the call, it's the boy. but at this point, no one knows the name george zimmerman. no one knows the name trayvon martin, but yet she can determine in her own thought who the boy is. i need you to speak to me as a lawyer and what you would do with that information. >> i think this is some of the most important evidence in the whole case, because if it is a boy or a child screaming, that she hears, and then later on in other taped encounters, the jury's going to go against zimmerman. he's shooting somebody on the ground screaming for help. but can you determine it's a young person? can you identify a scream? ironically, they had a hearing on this with the top experts in the country, and the judge said, you know something, scientifically, you can't determine whose voice it is in this tape. but the jury will be allowed to apply layperson's opinion testimony to make that determination. >> and understandably, this became an unbelievably massive story. it was wall-to-wall in the media. and at that time that jane surdyka began to give interviews in conversations subsequent to this incident, she had heard about a little boy. i mean, we'd all seen pictures of trayvon martin in his football uniform, i think, you know, in maybe fourth or fifth grade. so as a defense attorney, what would you do with what you're hearing on the stand? >> well, first, the defense already scored a major victory, keeping out that science that just didn't meet the frye standard, and allowing the jurors to make their own determination. the bottom line, it is the prosecution's burden to prove not only beyond a reasonable doubt that george zimmerman killed trayvon martin, but they also have to prove that -- they have to disapprove his self-defense defense. so when it comes to the screaming issue, the jury ultimately is going to apply their own belief -- their own sort of experiences to determine whether or not they can -- >> yeah, danny, aren't you going to cross-examine here and say, how did you know it was a boy? you didn't know who it was. you saw two men -- >> exactly. >> -- you describe one bigger and one smaller. now you're suggesting it's a boy. because there's been so much media coverage. that's why i ask you as a defense attorney, do you hammer away at this woman, who has nothing to do with any of this, she's really a bystander, and say, where did you get the idea this was a boy? >> you don't need to be harsh with a witness like this, that's unbiassed. it's very difficult. because all of the attorneys have invested themselves emotionally. we saw that in jodi arias. it's important to remain dispassionate and expose not that this person is not credible or dishonest, but rather their ability to perceive may have been compromised, simply because they weren't there and they weren't looking directly at it when it happened. >> not only that, but the descriptions that night, you know, were bigger person, smaller person, and as the descriptions became more realistic to the television audience, trayvon martin ended up being a taller, thinner person, and george zimmerman ended up being a smaller person. just quickly, paul. >> yeah, ashleigh, different attorneys have different approaches on this stuff, to. a lot of attorneys would be aggressive and go after her and say, hey, you're reading this in the newspaper and on tv, now you're saying "boy," and it undermines your testimony. so it's different -- different styles for different attorneys. >> a big day for a legal show, not only because this case continues to develop at warp speed, but also paul callan, danny, don't go anywhere. we have a lot more coming up on the program. in particular, what this means today, what happened at the supreme court. more reaction and analysis and insight on a historic supreme court ruling. you know how they feel. there is another side, as well. the rulings on same-sex marriage and how america moves forward, after this. i think farmers care more about the land than probably anyone else. we've had this farm for 30 years. we raise black and red angus cattle. we also produce natural gas. that's how we make our living and that's how we can pass the land and water back to future generations. people should make up their own mind what's best for them. all i can say is it has worked well for us.