Thaindian News

Massachusetts, July 12 (THAINDIAN NEWS) Observers are watching if President Barack Obama and his administration would appeal a landmark ruling that banned the marriages of gays in Massachusetts.

Judge Joseph Tauro announced the ruling. It sent the opponents of same sex marriages on wild jubilation, while supporters of gay marriage were disappointed.

The judge found the law that allowed gay couples to have the same privileges as their heterosexual counterparts unconstitutional. The judge said the law that allowed same sex marriage in the state of Massachusetts interfered with the State’s right to define marriage. The ruling affects only citizens at the state of Massachusetts where gay marriages have been legal since the last six years.

President Barack Obama has publicly declared his support for gay couples when he said he favors the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law. However his administration has been silent on the ruling so far.

Opponents of gay marriages hope that the ruling will urge other supporters in other States to file similar suits that would challenge legalization of same sex marriages.

The issue of same sex marriages has divided Americans sharply. Pro gay movements have spent so much money lobbying lawmakers to change the country’s laws to allow for the marriage of people who belong to the same sex. But opponents who are mostly religious bodies have resisted the move fiercely.