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Marriage decision seen as signal of culture shift

WASHINGTON - As 63-year-old Wes McCune celebrated outside the Supreme Court on Friday, he recalled a time when being gay was considered "evil."

WASHINGTON - As 63-year-old Wes McCune celebrated outside the Supreme Court on Friday, he recalled a time when being gay was considered "evil."

"I never thought I'd live to see this day," he said, wearing a purple T-shirt that read, "I Can't Even Think Straight."

But there he was, along with scores of others waving rainbow flags and taking selfies on the court's marble steps.

The decision making same-sex marriage legal across the United States followed a breathtaking cultural and political shift, one that left Democrats celebrating and many Republicans hoping to put the issue behind them.

Politicians, analysts, and consultants could not remember any issue that moved so far so fast.

Until May 2012, President Obama had not endorsed same-sex marriage. But now support for marriage for gays and lesbians is a core of the Democratic platform.

Obama described the day as one when "slow, steady effort is rewarded with justice that arrives like a thunderbolt."

In 2001, Americans opposed same-sex marriage by 57 percent to 35, according to the Pew Research Center. Now, the numbers are almost reversed: 57 percent support same-sex marriage, 39 percent oppose it.

A striking generational change has taken hold, and as gay and lesbian couples have become more comfortable talking about their experiences, officials' views have changed, said Ted Martin, executive director of Equality Pennsylvania.

"Now they know people who are talking about this. They know [gay and lesbian] people who are in their families," Martin said.

Some, Martin said, took cues from their children. People younger than 30, Martin said, "just don't see what the big deal is."

Even at conservative conferences, young people "were not only supporting gay marriage, but were enthusiastic about it," said Charlie Gerow, a Pennsylvania Republican consultant.

Sen. Robert P. Casey (D., Pa.), who in 2013 changed his position to favor same-sex marriage, talked about the impact of a powerful letter from a lesbian couple wanting equal rights for their family. In hindsight, he said, he looked back and thought, "Why did that take so long?"

The cultural wave was evident outside the court Friday. Megan Kellogg and Mikaela Koski, both 21 and straight, rushed to the scene "to support our fellow human beings," Kellogg said.

Koski teared up behind her neon yellow sunglasses as she talked about what the ruling would mean for gay family members, including a brother in Montana who came out in May and a cousin.

Jon Toebbe, 36, thought of his godmother and her wife in Minnesota.

For Republicans, the decision could take off the table a thorny issue for which public opinion has turned against them, at least in general elections, Gerow said.

"There are a lot of Republicans who are happy," Gerow said. "It gives them the opportunity to then focus on economic issues."

Most Philadelphia-area Republicans in Congress were silent on the ruling. Some tried to move on.

Sen. Patrick Toomey (R., Pa.), in a statement, said, "While I disagree with it, I acknowledge the Supreme Court's ruling as the law of the land."

Gov. Christie, expected to announce a run for president next week, said he disagreed with the way the issue was resolved, but added, "Our job is going to be to support the law of the land."

Other GOP presidential candidates made similar comments. But the issue might not be over.

"There were many prominent Republicans who stood on the wrong side of the issue, and their statements will come back," said Julian Zelizer, a Princeton University political historian.

The issue could still arise in GOP primaries, when candidates vie for conservative support, Gerow said.

Several Republican presidential candidates said they would fight to uphold religious freedom for those who disagree with same-sex marriage. In Congress, 90 Republicans signed on to proposals to bar the government from penalizing people who believe marriage should be only between a man and a woman.

And former Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Rick Santorum, one of those candidates, promised to use his bully pulpit to stand against the decision and for "mothers and fathers entering into healthy marriages."