Proponents of marriage equality and gay rights plan to rally at five o'clock this afternoon at Washington Square Park in Rochester, after the Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 that a provision in the Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional.
Graham Lynch of Rochester was at the Equal Grounds Coffee House when the ruling came down.
He says he was amazed to hear the ruling, and says it felt they were finally treated like real people.
Lynch says it was a little announcement, but the world has change as a result, and it's nice to feel like a regular human, American citizen.
Christine Meleca-Voigt of Rochester says she's feeling extreme elation and happiness for herself and thousands of others.
She says the ruling means she's entitled to the same rights and responsibilities as everyone else, and every federal benefit and responsibility that any other married couple gets is hers, as well.
That includes paying taxes as a married person, Social Security and veterans benefits.
She says it's a responsibility she wants.
Meleca-Voigt adds says the ruling is a recognition by her government that she has dignity, value and worth.
The Reverend Jason McGuire is executive director of New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms, a nonprofit Christian political advocacy group.
McGuire says his group had wished that DOMA would've been upheld, and that the court would recognize the importance of what he calls the authentic definition of marriage.
But he says it's encouraging that the court did not find a constitutional right to same-sex marriage that would apply to all of the states.
He says the ruling essentially allows the marriage debate to continue, state by state. he says as that debate continues, the culture will collectively affirm the importance of moms and dads in children's lives.
McGuire says the culture has understood that marriage is between a man and a woman, and that's the sincere definition of marriage.