And prior to 1967, many states (maybe most of them?) required that persons who wished to marry be of the same race.  The racism of the miscegenation laws is no longer 'respectable'; the bigotry which heretofore prevented gay persons from exercising the civil right to marriage enjoyed by other citizens is now recognized, in law and by most people, as no more 'respectable' than the racism of the laws that prohibited interracial marriage.  As an American, a Christian, and a Catholic, I am delighted that the civil rights of our sisters and brothers in the GLBT communities have been affirmed by the Court.