Obama: Gay marriage ruling ‘a big step toward equality’

WASHINGTON— President Barack Obama took to Twitter to praise the Supreme Court’s gaymarriage decision as “a big step in our march toward equality.”

Obama plans to deliver a statement Friday morning from the White House Rose Garden on the ruling that same-sex couples have a right to marry in all 50 states.

He then leaves for Charleston, South Carolina, where he will deliver a eulogy at the funeral for Rev. Clementa Pinckney, a state lawmaker and pastor of Emanuel African Methodist Church. Pinckney and eight others were killed there last week.

In his tweet, Obama says gay and lesbian couples now have the right to marry, “just like everyone else.” He uses the hashtag #LoveWins, which has become a refrain for the gay marriage movement.