Somebody in the United States has finally come to his senses by allowing gay couples to receive marriage licenses.

Circuit Judge Kevin Chang of Hawaii barred the state from denying marriage licenses to gay couples on Tuesday.

The state said it plans to appeal the decision.

The ruling has caused a national response from opponents and advocates. The American Center for Law and Justice called the ruling an “outrage.”

The state failed to show any compelling evidence against allowing same-sex marriages, Chang said.

Marriage licenses were to be issued immediately by the state after his decision.

Some same-sex couples tried to take advantage of the ruling immediately, but were denied marriage licenses on Tuesday by workers acting on the advice of state attorneys. Although there are advocators for same-sex marriages in Hawaii, polls say 70 percent of the residents in Hawaii oppose gay marriages.

Denying same-sex couples the right to marriage is plain discrimination. It’s about time people realize how many gay couples there are in the United States and the world.

The United States has been living in the dark for too long.

It may not be racial or gender discrimination, but it is discrimination by denying gay couples the right to marriage.

This ruling occurred in Hawaii, a somewhat isolated state away from central United States. All states need to readdress the matter of gay marriage.

By continuing to ignore gay rights, gays are not going to go away. Maybe this is what gay opponents hope to accomplish.

The United States in the future will look back on this discrimination and feel shame, just as it does about slavery and other past injustices.