The US Supreme Court's declaration on Friday of a right to same-sex marriage resolved a momentous question, yet the ruling left many others unanswered and is likely to spark future legal battles over gay rights.
In America, the right to marry represents only one piece in the evolving legal framework for gay civil rights.
Currently no constitutional principle or nationwide law broadly prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation. So in the majority of states, for example, landlords can legally turn away renters because they are gay and employers can reject job applicants for their sexual orientation.
And for opponents of a gay-marriage right who say it could infringe on their religious freedoms, the justices themselves disagreed sharply over the consequences of a decision that sparked banner-waving jubilation outside the columned building.
The four dissenting justices raised the specter that the ruling could erode the rights of religious individuals and institutions. Opponents of same-sex marriage have said it threatens the centuries-old American constitutional principle of religious freedom that permits rabbis, priests and other clergy to marry, or not, couples of their choosing.
Chief Justice John Roberts, who for the first time in his 10-year-tenure read excerpts of a dissent from the bench, warned in his written opinion that "people of faith can take no comfort" in the ruling.
He questioned whether religious colleges could continue to restrict student housing to opposite-sex couples. Dissenting Justice Clarence Thomas went further, predicting churches would face demands to participate in civil marriages between same-sex couples.
Writing for the five-justice majority, Justice Anthony Kennedy emphasized that religious opponents "may continue to advocate with utmost, sincere conviction" that gay marriage is wrong. He noted that the Constitution protects religious people "as they seek to teach the principles that are so ... central to their lives and faiths."
It was a relatively brief reference in Kennedy's 28-page opinion, and it remains to be seen how constitutional principles might clash in future cases.
In the 36 of the 50 states that already issued marriage licenses to same-sex couples, few such conflicts involving religious objections have reached the courts.
Most related lawsuits have involved small wedding-service businesses, from venues to flowers and cakes, that declined to serve gay couples based on the owners' religious beliefs.
"This is far from over," said Jim Campbell, a lawyer for the Arizona-based Alliance Defending Freedom, which has represented individuals who have declined wedding services on religious grounds.
He said he was dismayed by Friday's ruling but pointed to Kennedy's assurance that religious organizations will be protected. "The decision is going to be used as a tool for people on both sides," Campbell said. "It's hard to say whose use of it is going to prevail."
