US Supreme Court backs gay marriage

Gay rights campaigners across America were jubilant last night after the US Supreme Court declared that married same-sex couples should enjoy the same federal tax and social security benefits as heterosexual couples.

The court’s decision to strike down the 1996 Defence of Marriage Act was swiftly followed by another ruling that will allow gay marriage in California.

President Obama, who declared his own support for gay marriage before last year’s election, said that the court had “righted a wrong, and our country is better off for it”.*