President Barack Obama on Wednesday
congratulated the two gay couples involved in a Supreme Court case
which challenged Proposition 8, California's gay marriage ban.
In Hollingsworth v. Perry, the
high court dismissed an appeal to a lower court's ruling invalidating
the 2008 voter-approved amendment to the California Constitution.
The ruling, authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, determined that
the Prop 8 petitioners had no standing to appeal.
(Related: Gay
plaintiffs triumph at Supreme Court: DOMA struck down, Prop 8
dismissed.)
While appearing on MSNBC, the four
plaintiffs – Paul Katami and Jeff Zarillo and Kris Perry and Sandy
Stier – received a surprise call from the president.
“We're proud of you guys and we're
thrilled to have this … in California,” Obama said.
He added that the four should be proud
of what they have achieved.
“Through your courage, you're helping
out a whole lot of people,” he said. (The video is embedded on
this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)
In
a statement, Obama also applauded the Supreme Court's decision
striking down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which prohibited
federal agencies from recognizing the legal marriages of gay couples.