A Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling allowing same-sex couples to legally marry will have lasting political and moral effects, campus leaders said.

The decision, made by the Massachusetts Supreme Court Wednesday, made the state the first to sanction homosexual marriage.

The state’s Supreme Court justices decided civil unions and domestic partnerships, which have been granted in several states, were “unconstitutional, inferior, and discriminatory status for same-sex couples,” according to the majority opinion.

“The history of our nation has demonstrated that separate is seldom, if ever, equal,” the justices wrote.

Reactions to the court’s decision varied among members of the ISU community.

Robert Lowry, associate professor of political science, said the possibility of instituting same-sex marriages took off as a national issue with a June 26, 2003, Supreme Court decision to overturn a Texas law that prevented private consensual sex between adults of the same sex.

Josh Reicks, president of the ISU Republicans, said the ruling could open the doors to legalizing same-sex marriage all over the country.

The Republican Party was strongly against the Massachusetts ruling, said Reicks, senior in political science. He said he feels the justices are turning laws into what they want to happen, not necessarily what the intent of the Constitution was.

However, Reicks said he thinks the ruling can only be positive for President Bush’s re-election campaign.

“To be honest with you, this is a winning issue with Republicans. I don’t think America has ever supported homosexual marriage,” he said.

While none of the candidates running on the Democratic ticket have officially endorsed same-sex marriages, both Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass. and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean support civil unions.

Jeremy Hayes, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Student Services coordinator, said allowing same-sex marriages should quickly spark similar changes.

“What’s going on in Massachusetts is going to send some important signals to people around the country … creating these limits on who’s allowed to get married,” he said. “Having any kind of restriction is discriminatory against a class of people.”

Republicans are worried about what same-sex marriages will do to the tradition of American families, Reicks said.

“I wish the movement would be crippled forever, because I think it’s just an absolutely horrible thing to American society,” he said. “In the long run, this would be very, very damaging to the fabric of our society.”

Hayes said a family headed by a same-sex couple is no different from a family headed by a heterosexual couple.

“People who care for each other and are committed to each other are what’s important, and what gender they are doesn’t have any bearing on their ability to love and be committed to each other,” he said.