WASHINTON — The concluding paragraph of Justice Anthony Kennedy’s 28-page majority opinion on gay marriage is making its way into wedding ceremonies for gay and straight couples.
“No union is more profound than marriage,” Kennedy’s opinion says, “for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were.”
Wedding officiants from as far away as Australia said gay and straight couples are asking them to incorporate excerpts from the ruling into their ceremonies. Couples said they want to acknowledge the historic decision and to use language they described as beautiful, eloquent and powerful.
Lindsay Powell, 28, called Kennedy’s prose “poetic without being cliche.” She said it just “felt right” to include his words in her wedding to Robert Banuski, 28, because she’ll always connect this summer with the ruling.
