Washington (CNN) -- Justice Anthony Kennedy was among the first of his colleagues to arrive Wednesday at the U.S. Supreme Court. His chambers lit up several hours before the last-day release of monumental rulings on same-sex marriage.
There was little doubt that later that morning, this quietly powerful justice would be having a major say in the legal, political, and social path of gay rights moving forward.
And at precisely 10 a.m., Kennedy kicked off the public session with his eloquent majority ruling striking down a key part of a federal law that blocks a range of benefits for legally married gay and lesbian couples.
The Defense of Marriage Act "humiliates tens of thousands of children now being raised by same-sex couples," he said. "The law in question makes it even more difficult for the children to understand the integrity and closeness of their own family and its concord with other families in their community and in their daily lives."
What's next for gay rights movement?
It was vintage Kennedy -- a mix of sweeping rhetoric mixed with practical legal and social considerations.
"If Bill Clinton was 'the first black president,' Anthony Kennedy has now firmly secured his place in history as 'the first gay justice,'" said Michael Dorf, a law professor at Cornell University and a former Kennedy law clerk. "Justice Kennedy makes clear that he not only accepts, but welcomes the task of writing majestic opinions affirming the dignity of gay persons and couples."
http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/27/politics/scotus-kennedy
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