Transcripts For CNNW CNN Newsroom With Carol Costello 20150626

According to government officials one of the attackers has been killed. And in kuwait. And in kuwait isis is claiming responsibility for a suicide bombing at a mosque that killed several people. Good morning. Im carol costello. Thank you so much for joining me. We want to begin in the city of lyon it is considered a hotbed of radical islam. One of the suspects lived there. Jim bittermann is in paris. Just to modify that a bit, the hotbed of radical islam is south of lyon not in lyon. And there have been arrests of imams and those that have been expelled because there is this area where there are islamic fundamentalists who have been preaching a very radical version of islam. In any case what we know now is a Defense Council of the president ial palace will continue for a short time the next half hour. The president surrounded by his intear your minister and defense minister. Jim bittermann we have to let you go. The u. S. Supreme court has made its decision on samesex marriage. We head to wolf blitzer. This is cnn breaking news. And this is important cnn breaking news. Im wolf blitzer in washington. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. The United States Supreme Court has just released one of the most anticipated, one of the most important decisions of this term whether states here in the United States must issue licenses for samesex marriages. And whether theyre obliged to recognize samesex marriages performed in other states. Our correspondents and our experts are going over the opinion right now making sure we understand exactly how the justices ruled. Jake tapper is standing by and hell join us in a moment. As we await the result lets go john king first over at the magic wall. Lets explain the issues in this legal case that is also part of a fastevolving political argument here in the United States. It is the case. Heres the two big questions. Can states ban samesex marriages. Will the court say theres a national right to samesex marriage or not . A subset question do states have to recognize lawful samesex marriage in another state and you move to a state where its not, does that state have to recognize your marriage . One of the plaintiffs says look under the 14th amendment, he says he deserves equal protection. Samesex couples should be allowed to be married, the state of ohio in responding said no the constitution specifically leaves marriage up to the states and states should be allowed on a state by state basis to ban samesex marriage. Those are the legal arguments that the court will decide. Well have that decision in a minute. This of course has been a huge political issue as well as its made its way through the courts and the state legislatures. Look at the fastmoving numbers here. 63 of americans, nearly twothirds six in ten americans plus say samesex marriage should be legal. If you look at this breakdown by age, its very clear. Younger americans, those under 50 nearly threefourth. Those 50 and older a bare majority 52 . It is an issue that has a big generational divide. A second evolving political divide. 74 of democrats say yes, samesex marriage should be legal. Seven in ten independents say yes. Only 35 of republicans, but thats significant. That number is growing. Still 60 of republicans. One of the reasons this is a big divisive president ial campaign issue, six in ten republicans still say no on the question of samesex marriage. The fast moving politics of this is why this Supreme Court decision is so highly anticipated. Back in may 2009 45 said yes, samesex marriage should be legal. Almost a majority but the country still divided. Look now, 63 of americans. Approaching twothirds say yes this should be legal. The politics on this one as a cultural and social issue have been moving rapidly. Now were waiting to get the final word from the justices. John stand by for a moment. I want to quickly go up to the Supreme Court. Jake tapper is standing by. We now know, jake what the United States Supreme Court has decided on this very historic day. Thats right, wolf. It appears as though in a landmark decision the u. S. Supreme court has ruled that states cannot ban samesex marriages. Lets go to pamela brown at the court itself for more on this landmark opinion. Pamela. Historic day here at the Supreme Court, jake. You can probably hear gay rights advocates to my right cheering by this decision authored by Justice Kennedy saying that the right to marriage is a fundamental right and gays and lesbians cannot be excluded from that right. In this broad ruling by Justice Kennedy, he says the right to marry is a fundamental right and samesex couples may not be deprived of liberty or that right to marriage. So again, ruling today that samesex marriage is a nationwide constitutional right. This is one of the greatest civil rights issues of our time and this is what gay rights advocates have been hoping for for decades, that they can get married no matter what state they live in and today that is what has happened here at the Supreme Court with this ruling. Jake . Thank you so much pamela. It was a 54 decision with Justice Anthony kennedy writing the opinion siding with the four liberal court justices. Lets go to Jeffrey Toobin now for more analysis of this historic opinion. Jeffrey, is this the biggest win for samesex marriage advocates in the Supreme Court yet . Oh yes, indeed jake. You know there are certain indelible dates in the history of the Supreme Court. May 17th, 1954 the date of brown versus board of education, which ended school segregation. December 12th, 2000 bush v. Gore which ended the election. And june 26 2015 is going to be on this list because this is a profound change in American Life that has come with explosive speed in the history of social movements. Remember it was only 2003 that the first state, massachusetts, ordered that samesex marriage must be legal. And it was very much an outlier in those days. And in 2004 much of the country voted against samesex marriage. And here we now have samesex marriage in all 50 states. Another point thats really remarkable about todays decision which is there have been four opinions in the entire history of the Supreme Court on the subject of rights for gay people. Anthony kennedy has written all four of those decisions. No single justice in history, i think, has ever been so associated with an issue as Anthony Kennedy is with the rights of gay people. And this is a historic dramatic change that you know will reverberate for a long time. Interesting. I believe also that june 26th, today, is the anniversary of several of those other decisions written by Anthony Kennedy, lawrence v. Texas and a couple others having to do with the rights of samesex couples, whether or not to marry, striking down provisions of defense of marriage act. Im joined here by Jonathan Turley. Youve been going over the majority opinion. I should note that it was a 54 decision in the minority chuing chief roberts wrote dissent. But while youre reading Anthony Kennedys majority opinion that states that no state can ban samesex marriage what are you picking up . What strikes you . First of all, its much like his earlier decisions. Itses a actually quite move pg in parts where kennedy says look loving the case involving interracial marriage wasnt really people asking for interracial marriage. They were asking for marriage. He talks about how marriage is a tradition, but its also a changing tradition. That in the United States of america, we at one point didnt recognize interracial marriages. But then we did. That was struck down just in the 60s, i believe. Thats right. In loving v. Virginia you had the same type of moment you had today. It was the moment where the court in some ways leads the country. Weve gone through, as jeff has said Major Political changes. The greater acceptance of homosexuality as a community of these rights. But here the court is getting ahead of society a bit. Its a much like brown v. Board of education if i could interrupt for a second. Theyre getting ahead of the legislature. The political aspects. But theyre not getting ahead of society. So it shows overwhelming support from the public including young republicans. Thats right. But here as in with brown, the court says we cant wait any longer essentially. We have to recognize the right of these folks. You have to remember in terms of what jeff was talking about, back in the days of the hardwick decision where the Supreme Court up held the ruling he said hed never met a gay person. He said that to his clerk who turned out to be gay. It shows you the tremendous transformation that occurred. These justices are a part of a new generation. Very ironic that the one that has led the way is Justice Kennedy who bridges the generations in this sense. Ronald reagan appointee. Thats right. And this is not just a legacy this is a legacy that will last really for generations for kennedy and i think he knows it. But he writes incredibly passionately and deeply about marriage and the importance it is for two individuals regardless of their Sexual Orientation. Thats what gives this opinion such historic weight is not just its conclusion but the depth of the analysis that comes to all these opinions by Justice Kennedy. Theres been a lot of people attempting to read the tea leaves, Jonathan Turley about how Justice Kennedy who was really the swing vote on this how he was going to vote. The New York Times pointed out that one of his clerks is an openly gay individual. Pamela brown on the steps of the Supreme Court where there are protests where attorneys are speaking with one lawyer right now, lets go to you. I can tell you, jake, that there is a lot of emotion here in front of this Supreme Court today because this is really a dramatic historic day especially for those gay rights advocates that have been inviting for this day for year for decades. And what were seeing here is Justice Kennedy really cementing his legacy as a gay rights champion. Our cnn legal analyst, as you read through this opinion, what do you make of it what Justice Kennedy has to say . Justice kennedy, its very interesting. He goes through the arguments that this should be left to the people to decide that the conversation should continue but he said weve had this conversation thats helped us understand our neighbors and our friends who might be gay or lesbian. And we are at the point where theyve come to the court and said we deserve equal dignity under the law. And kennedy says squarely the constitution grants them that right. And were just learning that the chief justice, chief Justice Roberts right now is reading his dissent at the bench to his decision. I was in the oral arguments when this case was being presented. Chief Justice Roberts seemed really concerned that the marriage the definition of marriage has been around for millennia. And Justice Kennedy was concerned about that too. From what youve seen is that addressed in this . Yes, you know Justice Kennedy says indeed there is no union more profound than marriage. And he says these couples want to be part of that marriage want to be part of that time honored tradition. And he says that given this high ideal of love fidelity devotion that has been the enduring definition of marriage allowing these couples who want to be part of that he writes is very powerful evocative terms, is furthering those values. It doesnt take away from them. He writes very broadly that theyre pleased that they respect this definition of marriage, they respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves. And during oral arguments, the supporters of the bans on samesex marriage said this is a decision that should be left up to the people. The people should decide this through the democratic process. How is that addressed in this . I know you sort of touched on it earlier we hear a lot of cheers to my right, a Human Rights Campaign a lot of cheering going on and celebrating going on because this is a day gay rights advocates had been hoping for. But lets go back to this other argument that this should be left up to the democratic process, not to the courts. Justice kennedy says we have the constitution we have the equal protection clause, the due process clause of the 14th amendment, those guarantee rights to people beyond what someone votes for them or not. Its written in the constitution. These people have come to the court asking for a vindication of the constitution. Theyre not left up to a vote. People who are religious may not support this decision. What now for them . Those people who may not want to be a part of samesex marriage . Interestingly, Justice Kennedy directly addresses that point saying that the First Amendment ensures that religious organizations and those who oppose gay marriage on other bases, they can continue to object in their churches and so forth and theyre not require to officiate over couples that are of the same sex who want to get married, but the constitution nonetheless requires that all states nationwide recognize Marriage Equality. Certainly historic day here at the Supreme Court. Jake tapper, back to you. Just to put a button on something i said earlier, today is the anniversary of two other prosamesex rights decisions, both of them i believe, win by Justice Anthony kennedy who also wrote this landmark decision. It was in 2003 the lawrence v. Texas case on this date in 2003 which undid criminalization of homosexual behavior then in 2013 there was a decision u. S. V. Windsor which undid some of the defense of marriage act. So that was also on this same day. Thats why a lot of people thought this decision were it to come out the way it did would come out today. I want to go to Jeffrey Toobin right now. Jeffrey, youre talking about right now the dissent from chief Justice John Roberts who was vilified by conservatives today but is on their side today. Right. And chief Justice Roberts dissenting opinion is really a discussion of why we have a Supreme Court. Because what hes saying is you know this is a very important issue, and if i understand why there are people who want samesex marriage to be legal, and that is a perfectly legitimate goal. But he says that is for the political process. That is for state legislature, the peoples elected representatives, the constitution has nothing to do with it. If i can just read a paragraph or a couple sentences from chief Justice Roberts dissent, i think it really captures whats going on here. He says if you are among the Many Americans of whatever Sexual Orientation who favor expanding samesex marriage by all means celebrate todays decision celebrate the achievement of a desired goal celebrate the opportunity for a new expression of commitment but do not celebrate the constitution. It had nothing to do with it. Now, that of course is where the majority disagrees. The majority says in the word of Anthony Kennedy, that the constitution forbids discrimination against certain groups and forbidding marriage is a form of discrimination. But i think that really captures the question here of who should make this decision. Is this raa decision for the courts as Anthony Kennedy says . Or is it a decision for the peoples elected representatives as Justice Roberts said . I want to read a tweet put out by president obama just seconds ago. He wrote at 10 00 a. M. Eastern time today today is a big step in our march toward equality gay and lesbian couples now have the right to marry just like anyone else. Love wins. Its certainly a different era than previous ones when we talk about a president issueing a statement to a Supreme Court decision with a tweet and a hashtag. Jonathan turley if you would, this case was about a gay man and his partner who had been married. Theyre from ohio. They were married in maryland because samesex marriage until seconds ago was not legal in ohio. Then his partner died. And that he could not be listed as next of kin or as a spouse, and so they sued the Ohio Department of health. What is the constitutional grounds under which Justice Kennedy and the four liberal justices ruled that that was not constitutional . Well, its interesting. There were actually two questions being considered today. One whether states have to recognize the marriages of other states under whats called a full faith and credit dlauz. Whether ohio would have to recognize marylands samesex marriage. Thats right and then the second was if you were granting marriages in a given state, that second question overwhelmed the first by reaching the conclusion in the second sentence it means that all states are required to recognize these other marriages. And the important thing to remember is this is an incrementalist court. They waited a long time. Weve been standing here in these earlier decisions like windsor, like lawrence each time the court steadfastly avoided this question. It would get right to the edge then all lights would go out. Including kennedy. He was very very careful and he crafted this but basically what hes saying today is times out. Even as an incrementalist court even one that doesnt want to get ahead of their skis. You have Justice Anthony kennedy, the proverbial swing vote writing the opinion for Ginsburg Breyer sotomayor and then you have roberts, scalia alito and thomas each of those four writing his own dissent. Jonathan turley whats the significant of the fact that all four wrote their own dissents as opposed to joining together . It is significant. Those dissents together are 64 pages long. These are justices that wanted to make clear they have slight differences. Justice scalia of course gave a dissent that has its usual flair, but they all do have this common element, which is this is not for us to decide. Its up to the legislative branch and the American People it shouldnt be courts making the ruling . Thats right. Theres a danger in fact Justice Scalia refers to this as the least dangerous branch. Thats how its referred to in history. He said are we still the least dang ru branch essentially . Were taking a decision that takes away the voice of some people in the states who said they dont want to recognize samesex marriage. But the countervailing court comes through with Justice Kennedy is quite powerful. It says we faced this before. This is the same argument in loving that people should have the right to say that interracial couples shouldnt marry. Yeah. And we stepped up and we said time is up. We have to recognize these marriages. So hes equating this to the ban on interracial marriage thats quite significant. Of course theres been a sea change in Public Opinion on this issue, not just among the public but also among certain democratic president s. President obama when he ran for president in 2008 opposed samesex marriage. He came out during his first term in favor of samesex marriage. Lets go to brian todd hes at the Supreme Court where there are some emotional protesters but theyre not protesting anything any more. Theyre celebrating. Yeah jake an ecstatic crowd here in front of the Supreme Court. They vastly outnumber the people who are against this ruling but this is the crowd in favor of upholing the right to samesex marriage. Im here with suzy gelman, the mother of a gay son who live in israel. He was married here. Suzy shes with Human Rights Campaign. She was here for the arguments in this campaign. Tell us what you are feeling right now. Absolutely overjoyed, completely overjoyed. I think were cautiously optimistic but the Supreme Court could have ruled on the recognition case and taken a pass on finding that this is a constitutional right for all americans. Ive never been prouder than right now to be an american. You were here for some of the early arguments. You told me you feared early on that it would not go your way because of some of the questions that Justice Kennedy was asking. We knew all along that Justice Kennedy is the linchpin because hes the justice thats written the decisions, has been the deciding vote in every case awarding americans gay rights and he came through big time today, big time. Marty, youre also with Human Rights Campaign. Yes. What does this mean to you . Theres been decades and decades of hatred and discrimination against samesex couples and today is a huge validation validation. The highest court in the land has ruled that gay and lesbian couples are equal and should be treated equal. For the next generations, this will be a wonderful, wonderful effect. What practical effect will this have . There will be more marriages, more joy, more celebrations. Young people today will be able to live fuller lives. Its just an amazing wonderful day for america. America has lived up to her promise of liberty and justice for all. Thank you both very much for talking to us. An ecstatic crowd here. They vastly outnumber those who protest this. [ cheers ] else. I couldnt make out the other letters. But a very spontaneous celebration here. Lets see if we can find some other people to talk to. You, sir, you said youre a rabbi, you married some samesex couples. This is an incredible moment. As a rabbi, as a representative of the jewish people. And people of faith of all religions in our society today, this is an incredible affirmation that the god that we all believe in is a god who is all about love and a god who sees that all human beings are equally created in gods image and that we all equally deserve a place in holiness and in joy as human beings whoever we are. Did you get any resistance in religious circles in your religion or anywhere else to this whole thing . Ive been very blessed in my congregation in israel thats been incredibly accepting and loving. Theres still a lot of work to do in many communities and were set to do the work. All right, guys you have the gauge of the crowd here. [ cheers ] theyre absolutely buoyant about this ruling. This will probably linger for a couple of hours, if yesterdays Health Care Ruling was any indication guys. All right. Thats brian todd at the Supreme Court where protesters have turned into sell brandts. Let me go quickly to wolf blitzer back in the studio. Its a huge huge day here in the United States samesex marriage Marriage Equality now will not only be in those states that have already approved it but throughout all 50 states and the District Of Columbia here in the nations capital. The president of the United States obviously very happy. His position has dramatically changed over these years. As you pointed out he was against samesex marriage in 2008 when he was running for the presidency but much more recently he changed his position he supports gay marriage and he just did tweet that statement welcoming what happened today is a big step in our march toward equality. He says gay and lesbian couples now have the right to marry just like everyone else. The president today will make a statement at the top of the hour in about a half hour or so from now, 11 00 a. M. Eastern applauding this decision coming the day after the Supreme Court decided to uphold afford abld health care here in the United States. The president now will make another major statement. Hes very excite edd. Officials there at the white house wanted the Supreme Court to confirm Marriage Equality in all 50 states. Thats what they got in this 54 decision. Gloria borger is with me john king is with me. This is historic gloria. It is. When you think back john and i were just talking, when you think back to the political evolution of this issue, back in the 2004 election candidate george w. Bush was using the issue of gay marriage as a wedge issue in the state of ohio to rally a republican base. Fast forward, youve had proposition 8, youve had the defense of marriage act, and suddenly now you have Public Opinion in this country, a majority 61 in the polls support gay marriage. Not only that but when you look at younger republicans, 58 support gay marriage. And i remember covering proposition 8, talking to ted olsen, a conservative republican lead attorney on this pro gay marriage. He said to me at the time the equal protection clause will get this through the Supreme Court. When this fight first started for gay marriage wolf there were a lot of gay activists who said dont go to the court because this court is going to rule against us. Look at it. Its a conservative court. Lets do it step by step by step at the state level. Dont take it to that level. And guess what . It ended up getting there and the court ruled in their favor on a constitutional question. In and of itself a landmark civil rights ruling. Stop right there and breathe a little bit and think about what a dramatic huge day this is for the country. Legally and it will become politically and culturally and socially. Thing about where we are. In the past week beef seen a huge shift in the debate about the confederate flag. We had yesterday the court say obama care is constitutional. The cement is drying there. This decision itself is historic and just huge. Then in the context of Everything Else thats happening, then what happens in the political fallout because were beginning to see heading into a president ial cycle, gloria makes a good point about the younger republicans who are saying its time for our party to recognize the shifts here to move on to come out of the time warp is what a lot of young republicans say. However, think about the tensions in the debates. Mike huckabee says this is an imperial court. We should resist and reject judicial tyranny. This will now become like the president S Health Care law, a flash point in the republican president ial debates. When the party goes right to fight these issues on which it is losing in the courts and on this one losing in Public Opinion as well what impact does that have heading into the election. The fallout will be fascinating, history being made. Its interesting to hear republicans rail against a conservative court. Reagan appointee and bush appointee. Exactly. I want to go to dana bash up on capitol hill. Beginning to get some republican reaction what are you hearing . Im actually going to give you first one that is not typical of most republicans and thats from senator rob portman of ohio. He you may remember announced on cnn i did an interview with him in 2013 that he was going to be in favor of samesex marriage and the reason is because his son will told him that he is gay. And so he just released a statement saying as a father, i welcome todays decision. He has said just politically as a senator he would have preferred that the issue be resolved as part of the democratic prosetcess in the states but he went on to say, i hope after this decision is made that we can move past division and polarization the issue has caused. I think this is a very telling statement for a number of reasons. First of all, because the fact that rob portman came out in favor of samesex marriage a couple of years ago, he actually did so when there were a lot of democrats who were still against it because they were maybe from conserveative states. He helped to change the Democratic Party here on capitol hill. But it really speaks to a reason why you see a lot of politicians and even people who are of a different generation come to change their views because it is personal for them. Because they know somebody in their family. And that is the story of rob portman. Thats why his Statement Today is quite telling, that he was such an aberration a couple of years ago because of his decision and now his stance is the law of the land on a national basis. I should say again he is certainly not indicative of other republicans. Im also getting statements from others who, as you can imagine, are not happy about this, say that this is simply a religious decision and should not be taken up by the court. John mentioned Mike Huckabee hes a perfect example of that. Were standing by for the president of the United States. Hes going to be making a statement. Well have live coverage of that in about a half hour or so from now. Hes scheduled to speak from the white house at 11 00 a. M. Eastern. We just got a tweet also reaction from Hillary Clinton. She says proud to celebrate a historic victory for Marriage Equality and the courage and determination of lgbt americans who made it possible. Theres Hillary Clintons reaction like president obama, her position has clearly changed, evolved over these years as well. Lets go back to jake tapper. Hes up near the Supreme Court. Thanks so much Hillary Clinton another person who opposed samesex marriage until very recently. I think it was after she left the department of state that she came out and said that she supported that having opposed it previously. Were looking through the opinion written by Justice Anthony kennedy and looking at the dissents. One point i want to bring up in Anthony Kennedy on page 15 of his majority opinion he talks about how unfair the current laws banning samesex marriage or the previous laws, i should say, to the children of those marriages. The children suffer the stigma of somehow knowing their families are lesser and suffer the material cost of being raised by unmarried parents relegated through no fault of their own, an uncertain family life. Thats the majority opinion. Now blissering dissents. It will not surprise you to hear that Justice Scalia is the author of perhaps the most lively and blistering dissent. Lets go to Jeffrey Toobin for some of the language there. Jeffrey . Blistering dissent, jake but its very different. I think if you want illustrations of how much the country has changed in the past decade or so you need only look at Justice Scalia because in 2003 in the kifs lawrence v. Texas, he also dissented, another Anthony Kennedy opinion. And that was the case that said gay people could not be criminally prosecuted for having sex. And listen to what Justice Scalia wrote in 2003. He said Many Americans do not want persons who openly engage in homosexual conduct as partners in their business as scout masters for their children as teachers in their children raps School Childrens schools or as borders in their home they view this as protecting themselves and their families from a lifestyle they believe to be immoral and destructive. Really just outward bigotry against gay people. Now, today Justice Scalia begins his dissenting opinion by saying this issue is of no particular importance to me. And the only real issue here is the democratic process, who makes the decisions, should it be the courts or should it be the people . Even Justice Scalia who is the biggest social conservative on the court, he cannot talk the way he used to talk about gay people because culturally politically, even legally, its simply not appropriate and even legal in ways to talk about gay people the way Justice Scalia used to talk about gay people. Let me go to the court, if i can just interrupt for a second jeffrey. Well talk about the dissents in a second. But brian todd is at the court. People i believe, perhaps plaintiffs in the case have been coming out and theres been cheering. Brian todd whats going on up there . Well jake we just saw a crowd rushing up here. Im going to actually walk up the steps. Our cameraman is not ray loued to go up these steps. Im going to go up the steps and see whats going on here. An extraordinary thing because the protesters generally as a rule are kept on the plaza in front of these steps. Theres some people here speaking. And these are celebrants who are applauding the ruling as some of the attorneys and others come out. Im at the back of the crowd working my way forward. I cannot see who is speaking. But its really extraordinary that the crowds are let up the elevated plaza on the steps leading big cheers at the Supreme Court right now. Brian, while youre engaging in your hike lets go to pamela brown who also is there and maybe can shed light on whats going on. Jake you can see behind me here huge crowds going up on the plaza, which, by the way, elizabeth, is very unusual. Very unusual. We know that people who were inside that courtroom listening to the opinion being read out loud by Justice Kennedy and the dissent by chief Justice Roberts coming out and jim obergafeld has come out, who theyre presumably crowding around. He was the star because this case was named after him. He married his partner arthur who had a. L. S. In maryland because they couldnt get married in ohio where they live because of the ban on gay marriage. He went back to ohio wanted his name on the death certificate for his partner that he had married in maryland and thats when the fight pursued from there, ensued. And he really has been the hero for gay rights advocates. The lawyers, advocates are coming out. This is big day, a momentous decision. Interesting that chief Justice Roberts dissented in this case. Hes really going to be a footnote in this unlike Justice Kennedy who is cementing his legacy on this day. The crowds are up on the Supreme Court plaza, which never happens. This never happens theyre all going up there. Incredible to see this crowd circling around the people who were inside of that courtroom on this historic day listening to the opinions. You mentioned chief Justice Roberts, he had the dissent. There were a lot of people who thought maybe hed join Justice Kennedy and be a part of have this be a part of his legacy. That did not happen today because he talked about the democratic process and how this interferes with that. Exactly. He said it should be left to the conversation to continue. We have the people coming up here showing their support. Singing. Singing. And you know i think that it just goes to show lets listen in. Oer the ram parts we just watched were so gallantly streaming and the rockets red glare the bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that our flag was still there oh say does that starspangled banner yet wave oer the land of the free and the home of the brave just how dramatic this moment is. We dont even have to say anything jake. I think that said it all. All right, lets go to brian todd who is also in that crowd after hearing that moving rendition of song people celebrating the decision of the u. S. Supreme court, 54 decision basically striking down every ban on samesex marriage in the country. There were only 13 States Affected specifically by that ban that had bans in place and now no longer. Brian todd whats going on where you are . Yeah jake were on this elevated plaza right before the main steps of the court. There are security people on the main steps not allowing the crowd to get past this point. Just the fact that they allowed this crowd up on this elevated plaza is extraordinary. Ive never seen it. It has rarely happened. They were just chanting love has won as some of the plaintiffs and their attorneys walk by. Theyre just milling around. But an extraordinary scene just a moment ago, jake. Brian todd. Lets go back to Jeffrey Toobin and Jonathan Turley here with me about some of the dissent. First of all just to explain, there are 13 states that had the samesex marriage bans in place, arkansas georgia, louisiana, kentucky michigan missouri tennessee, mississippi, nebraska north dakota south dakota, texas and ohio. Those samesex bans have been declared unconstitutional by the u. S. Supreme court. Jeffrey toobin we were talking about scalias language in his dissent not as in your view bigoted as in a decision from 2003 in which he talked about people not wanting to associate with gays and lesbians but it still has a lot of spice in it shall we say. Heres a footnote from scalia the Supreme Court of the United States has dissented from the disciplined legal reasoning of John Marshall and joseph storic to the mystical aphorisms of the fortune cookie. Jeffrey toobin. Yeah thats part of scalias whole theme, which is this is just the majority of the court making up rights that are nowhere based in the constitution. Jake if i could just mention one thing as someone who has spent a lot of time on the plaza of the Supreme Court. They never let people up there. I think the sheer number of people who were just overwhelmed, the Supreme Court police there is really an extraordinary testament to the number of people that are there. That moving rendition of the starspangled banner which reminds me of something barney frank used to state. Barney frank, of course is the former congressman, gay rights pioneer. He used to say, we gay people were really radical. What we really want to do is get married and join the army. Talking about getting rid of dont ask, dont tell and establishing Marriage Equality. I think thats one reason why the Gay Rights Movement has been so successful so quickly, which is their demands have been very conservative joining the army being allowed to get married. These are very traditional activities. They are not outlandish. And the fact that they sang the starspangled banner not some famous protest song i think is indicative of the very mainstream nature of the Gay Rights Movement today. We are expecting there are microphones set up at the Supreme Court. We are expecting people victors in this Supreme Court case to come out and speak. When that happens well bring that to you live. Were also expecting president obama to speak about this at the rose garden of the white house at the top of the hour. Let me go to prieny brian todd who is at the Supreme Court with the protesters turned celebrants. What are experiencing what are you seeing . This is a great shot, jake if you guys can see this. A massive love and equality flag being spread people running under it just celebrating around it. Something we havent really seen here very much at the Supreme Court no matter what the issue is being addressed. We havent seen a banner this big or crowds this passionate here in a long long time. You can see that shot. Extraordinary. Theyre raising it up lowering it down. People still just celebrating around this area. They came up where we are. We were a little bit elevated on this plaza because we came up on the steps here. The security people allowed us on the steps which was an extraordinary measure just an hour ago. And people are enjoying this extraordinary moment in front of the Supreme Court. You see the banner being raised and lowered there. People are running under it a moment ago dancing around it really celebrating this moment. This could last for some time now, jake. We were talking about the sea change in Public Opinion on the issue of samesex marriage according to a Pew Research Poll support for samesex marriage in 2009 was just 37 , and then in may of this year it was 57 . That number likely to increase when you look at those who are the most strongly in favor of samesex marriage which includes millennials at a rate of 73 and as weve noted many times, young republicans, republicans over the age of 30 overwhelmingly support samesex marriage as well. So it looks as well for those who oppose samesex marriage things the are not trending in their direction to say the least. Pamela brown. Im here with Steve Collins and our senior politics reporter who was inside the courtroom when Justice Kennedy began reading the opinion. And steve emotions were running high inside that room. Set the scene for us. What was it like . Thats right. It was quite an extraordinary moment when Justice Kennedy started reading this opinion. He got to the point where he said samesex couples can execute their rights to marry in all states. Look to the public gallery, there were young people there, proopponents of samesex marriage. Their eyes started filling with tears. Several people were crying. You could hear the sort of sniffs as he carried on to read the opinion. People sniffed back their emotions. It was a moment of real emotion and for many a combination of a long political struggle. They got to the courts this morning to see the end of that. Its been a fight for decades. We know chief Justice Roberts read read there was some question whether he would join kennedy in that. That didnt happen. A contrast yesterday with the obama care ruling where Justice Roberts sided with the liberals on the court. That was interesting. His dissent was not quite as vehement as Justice Scalia yesterday on obama care. It was much less personal but still very notable. It was very forthright. He basically argued to the people in the court, that five justices had taken it upon themselves to rewrite what the definition of marriage has been for lil men ya. Right near the end of his dissent, he actually addressed okay jake tapper well go back to you. Were seeing right now, i believe that that is mr. Obergafeld. Hes about to speak, i suppose. Lets listen in. All right. And action. Go for it. Good morning. My name is jim obergafeld and im from cincinnati ohio. Ive lived in ohio for most of my life. My late husband john and i were together for almost 21 years before he passed away as a result of the complications of a. L. S. Im here today in front of our nations highest court because my home state fought the recognition of any marriage to john. And when the man i loved and cared for passed away from one of the cruelest diseases known to humanity the state of ohio the state in which ive lived, worked and paid taxes for most of my life continued to fight my right to list my name on johns death certificate. No american should have to suffer that indignity. Thats why john and i and the 30 plaintiffs who are part of this lawsuit decided to fight. I know in my heart that john is with me today. That man cared for and loved me for 21 years through thick and thin. Todays ruling from the Supreme Court affirms what millions across this country already know to be true in our hearts. Our love is equal. That equal justice under law apply to us too. All americans deserve equal dignity, respect and treatment when it comes to the treatment of our relationships and families. Now at long last ohio will recognize our marriage and, most important, Marriage Equality will come to every state across our country. Its my hope that the term gay marriage will soon be a thing of the past. That from this day forward, it will simply be marriage. And our nation will be better off because of it. I also hope that this decision has a profound effect in reducing the stigma the hurt the alienation and discrimination that lgbt people all too often feel when he live our lives openly and authentically. At the same time while we will celebrate todays victory, my heart is also in charleston. These past few weeks and months have been an important reminder that discrimination in many forms is alive and well in america. It reminds us of the deeply unfortunate reality that progress for some is not progress for all. And that there can be equally significant steps backward as there are forward. If were truly dedicated to our democracy and the values that we as a nation cherish, we must be equally committed to ensuring that all citizens are treated equally, that all americans deserve justice. Thats when were all united. I want to thank my legal team and especially al guardstein who stood by me every day, thank you to all the litigators plaintiffs and organizations who fought for equality. Todays victory, our shared victory was only possible because of each and every one of you. Id like to give a special thank you to mary bonatto and doug howard drymeyer who brilliantly argued our case before the court and eloquently affirmed my life and my relationship and million of others like me across this country. We owe you all a huge debt of gratitude. But most importantly, id like to thank john for loving me for making me a better man and for giving me something worth fighting for. I love you. This is for you, john. Thank you. That was jim obergefell. He was the plaintiff in this case. Well hear from other plaintiffs here. There four other cases. I argued question one. I want to say today was a momentous decision and it is going to bring joy to millions of families gay and straight across this land. And now every person in this country who is lgbt realizes they can marry tomorrow. They can take on that unique responsibility Justice Kennedy talked about this morning that is marriage. It is also a great thing for kids who no longer have to question why their parents were deemed unworthy of marriage and those kids can also have the same security and protections that marriage provides to families. The reaction to this has been very strong both among the democratic president ial hopefuls who have been applauding the decision by the majority of the court and, of course the republican hopefuls president ial hopefuls some of whom disagree very strongly with the decision of the court. The United States today becoming the 21st nation in the world to recognize samesex marriage. Lets go back to wolf blitzer in the studio. It truly is historic and very emotional especially for the people there at the United States Supreme Court who are applauding this 54 decision legalizing samesex marriage all over the United States. S. E. Cupp is one of our cnn political commentators. You can see how happy these people are now that they will have equal rights to get married. Yeah frankly, its sorry, hard to watch that and not get emotional. Those people there are not pariahs. They are patriots. And wherever you stand on the politics of this issue, and ive long been in support of gay rights its hard not to see these people as just wanting the Human Dignity that the rest of us have whether thats when it comes to death benefits or hospital visitation or child custody. Tax issues. So again the politics of this is one thing, but i would just challenge members of my party to look at the faces on the righthand of your screen and ask yourselves if they deserve the same kind of dignity that the rest of us get to enjoy. You can argue with the Supreme Courts rationale and whether or not they had the right to sort of make this decision on behalf of individual states but this is america. Those people are americans, and that is our future. And so for my party, which i deeply deeply love,y with have to reconcile with the fact that well become relics if we dont get to where these people are. Theyre patriots. Theyre not asking for a lot. You may not know this yet but the republican party, your party, just issued a statement critical of this decision. It is based on the 14th amendment to the constitution. A couple sentences in there. Nor shall any state deprive any person of life liberty or property without due process of law nor deny any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. In effect that 14th amendment to the constitution says gay americans have equal rights right now as heterosexual americans. If they want to get married, it is their right to get married. A clearly momentous day here in the United States s. E. Yeah and what ive never understood is why conservatives who are not sort of on my side of this dont understand these are people who are begging to be part of a traditionally conservative institution that celebrates monogamy and economic stability. This is something we should be applauding. These arent people who are trying to get rid of the institution of marriage. Theyre people who want to be part of it. Thats a good thing for American Family values. Thats a good thing for children thats a good thing for adoption thats a good thing for economic stability. So really its always been natural for me to make a conservative case for gay marriage but i hope seeing some of the faces of these people who have fought for so long for very little really just for recognition of their unions their monogamous unions i really hope that this can change some hearts and minds in my party. Youre not going to do it at the barrel of a gun. Youre going to do it through human stories like these. And gay americans want to be equal citizens. They dont want to be second class citizens. You can see that on their faces there. S. E. Just tell our viewers why this is so emotional for you. You know i grew up with gay friends. Some of my closest friends are gays gay people. Ive been getting texts all day, all morning. You know how happy they are and how happy they know i am. Im the signatory on a number of amicus briefs in favor of gay marriage. These are people. This is why people like rob portman have changed their minds. Because you meet people. Not policies not politics. But as you meet real people and you realize theyre not asking for much. Theyre asking for what you take for granted. Theyre asking for recognition and Human Dignity. Theyre not extremists. Theyre not pariahs. Theyre patriots. And to celebrate with them for so many years when they felt there was a different standard and different treatment, is outstanding. More people like me will just know more people like that. Thats why im trying to tell my party that youre going to be a relic, youre going to be left behind. If you dont come to terms with the fact that this is our future. You dont have to like it. You dont have to embrace it. But you have to accept it. This is not a moment in history. This is the future. And basically from what im hearing you say, what our polls show is that young republicans like you, s. E. Theyre with you, theyre not with their parents generation when it comes to the issue of samesex marriage. Yeah im not alone here. We might be the minority within the republican party, but when you look at groups former group go proud or log cabin republicans, conservatives for the freedom to marry, there are legions of Young Conservatives out there who think it is perfectly within the purview of their conservative values to support gay marriage and support the idea that the government should not be in the business of marriage. The government should stay out of our private lives. I think youre just going to find more and more conservatives like me of that mind as we move forward. Stand by s. E. I want to go back to pamela brown. Shes got a very special guest with her. Wolf im here with the lead plaintiff in this case jim obergefell. I imagine you are just full of emotions right now . I am. From tears of joy, tears of sadness, its definitely bittersweet that john isnt here to celebrate, but its been an incredible day and something i never thought i would experience. Just for our viewers who may not know jim, your partner, john, had a. L. S. You live in ohio. Had to go to maryland to get married. You came back to ohio. And wanted your name on the death certificate. Tell me what the fight has been like from that moment. Well the fight from the very start was always about our relationship and wanting respect and wanting it to be treated with dignity. Thats what started our fight and thats what its been from the beginning. As americans we deserve the same rights and same respect as any other couple. And its been an incredible thing for me to do to be able to stand up and fight for not just john and my marriage but for couples all across the country. Its been an unbelievable incredibly moving and humbling experience. When you were inside that courtroom today and Justice Kennedy said he was going to read his opinion and your name was on this case what did that feel like . Oh, i jerked in my seat. I jumped up. I think i even squeaked a little bit because i knew it was possible but it took me be surprise. It did. It did very much so. I dont know if i thought maybe another case would happen first, im not sure. But it took me be surprise because it was just we sat down and Justice Kennedy started speaking and it was our case. It was just took me by surprise. Then i cried. I cried throughout almost his entire ruling. When you knew it was Justice Kennedy, did you have that feeling, this is it were going to win . That ran through my mind but i think it ran through my mind so quickly that i didnt even catch it. But when he started talking, first couple sentences out of his mouth, i thought, i think we got this. You have really been emerged as sort of a hero for gay rights advocates as the lead plaintiff. What was that like for you, jim, when you walked out of the Supreme Court and there was this huge crowd on the plaza celebrating, what was that like . Indescribable. And you know we werent able to come down the steps. We came around the side and through the middle of the crowd and just the cheers and people giving me thumbs up and high fives and yelling my name. And it was it just made it all real and reinforced that this fight wasnt simply about my marriage and me and john it was about so many other people. And it just kind of coalesced all the experiences ive had over the past almost two years fighting for this where i meet people they thank me they hug me tell me stories, that all happened coming across the plaza. Did you ever think youd be at the center of this historic ruling . Never. Never in my wildest dreams would i have thought of this. 50 years from now, law students will be studying this case your name will be on that obergefell. It makes me chuckle to think of all the law students having to learn how to pronounce and spell my name. I had to as well. I chuckled about that from th