In a monumental decision, the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday ruled that same-sex couples have a right to marry under the federal Constitution.

The court's 5-4 decision on the case, Obergefell v. Hodges, strikes down same-sex marriage bans as unconstitutional and makes marriage equality the law of the land.

"The right to marry is a fundamental right inherent in the liberty of the person, and under the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment couples of the same-sex may not be deprived of that right and that liberty," reads the majority opinion written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, the swing vote in the case. "Same-sex couples may exercise the fundamental right to marry ... The State laws challenged by the petitioners in these cases are held invalid to the extent they exclude same-sex couples from civil marriage on the same terms and conditions as opposite-sex couples."

Friday's marriage equality ruling comes exactly two years after the nation's high court overturned the Defense of Marriage Act in the 2013 United States v. Windsor case. It also comes ahead of Chicago's 46th annual gay pride parade on Sunday and other LGBT pride events across the country.

Obergefell v. Hodges was a combination of four cases involving same-sex marriage bans in Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan, and Tennessee.

The case centered around two key questions: Whether states can ban same-sex marriages, and, if they can, whether states must recognize lawful gay marriages performed in other jurisdictions. The case boiled down to whether the 14th Amendment, which guarantees due process and equal protection under the law, requires states to recognize same-sex marriages.

The Supreme Court held that the 14th Amendment requires a state to issue a marriage license to same-sex couples and to recognize gay marriages performed in other jurisdictions. 

Check back with Progress Illinois for a full report with reaction and analysis on the marriage equality ruling.