After Supreme Court makes historic ruling on marriage equality; here are some of the nation's most spirited reactions.

Unless this is the first thing you've read since waking, you probably already know that the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 vote, ruled earlier today that same-sex marriage is a constitutional right. As such, state laws banning same-sex marriage are no longer in compliance with federal law and are effectively nullified. 

Writing for the majority in the decision, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy stated that "the history of marriage is one of both continuity and change," and, "changed understandings of marriage are characteristic of a nation where new dimensions of freedom become apparent to new generations."

After laying out the legal arguments, Kennedy then drops the zinger:

"This analysis compels the conclusion that same-sex couples may exercise the right to marry," he writes. "The reasons marriage is fundamental under the Constitution apply with equal force to same-sex couples.

"It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage," he continues. "They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right."

It is so ordered. 

The reactions to the decision have ranged from joy and celebration in the streets, to disdain and outright disgust. 

The latter begins with a dissenting opinion from Justice Antonin Scalia, who's long been the Supreme Court's most staunch conservative. 

"The opinion is couched in a style that is as pretentious as its content is egotistic," Scalia writes. "[It's] showy profundities are often profoundly incoherent."

But let's look at the how the country's reacting, and start by messing with Texas.

In advance of the ruling, Texas pastor Rick Scarborough reportedly said, "No matter what the cost, we are not going to bow, we are not going to bend, and we will burn."

He also said: "The preachers need to get out front, the leaders need to get out front, out front of these ordinary citizens and say, ‘Shoot me first’."

No reports yet today if Scarborough has been shot or set himself on fire, but this story will be updated if either comes to pass. 

Also in Texas, State Attorney General Ken Paxton wrote that his state might flout the ruling on the basis of religious freedom. 

"No court, no law, no rule, and no words will change the simple truth that marriage is the union of one man and one woman," he writes in a statement after the ruling. 

"In numerous incidents trumpeted and celebrated by a sympathetic media, progressives advocating the anti-traditional marriage agenda have used this issue to publicly mock, deride, and intimidate devout individuals for daring to believe differently than they do," he continues. "It is not acceptable that people of faith be exposed to such abuse. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects our religious liberty and shields people of faith from such persecution."

Paxton, however, makes no mention of how the ruling might cause a religious person to abuse themselves, like, for instance, set themselves on fire. 

On the subject of fire, here's the headline for The New Yorker's weekly satire column "The Borowitz Report," which went online after the ruling: "Scalia Arrested Trying to Burn Down Supreme Court."

Here's the lead: "In a shocking end to an illustrious legal career, police arrested Justice Antonin Scalia today as he attempted to set the Supreme Court building ablaze."

And the close: "Back at the Supreme Court, Justice Scalia’s colleagues said they hoped he would get the help he needed, except for Justice Clarence Thomas, who said nothing."

In news that sounds like satire but is actually real, Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a Republican presidential candidate, released a fiery statement today condemning the ruling. 

"I will not acquiesce to an imperial court any more than our Founders acquiesced to an imperial British monarch. We must resist and reject judicial tyranny, not retreat," he says in the statement.

"The Supreme Court can no more repeal the laws of nature and nature's God on marriage than it can the law of gravity," he continues. "The court cannot write a law, even though some cowardly politicians will wave the white flag and accept it without realizing that they are failing their sworn duty."

He's got a point with the gravity thing. The court cannot repeal that law. It does have the power, however, to repeal laws written by humans. 

In more uplifting news, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee addressed a tearfully joyous crowd on the steps of S.F. City Hall.

"It was the scales of justice tipping...it was the arc of our history being bent," Lee said of the ruling, which happened to come just a day before the weekend's annual SF Pride celebration.  It's sure to be the most memorable one yet, and for many, has already begun. 

"I woke up to rainbows everywhere," a friend who lives in San Francisco writes on Facebook. "Happy pride!"

In Salinas, at a press conference before the gathering of the California Assembly Select Committee on Boys and Men of Color, Juan Gomez, co-founder of the MILPA collective in Salinas, spoke to the crowd about the ruling and called it a major victory. 

"From here, we can work on racial equity," Gomez says. "Marriage equality is a step toward racial equity." 

On the interwebs, Buzzfeed put together a fun post of celebratory text messages sent in wake of the ruling, some of which will melt your heart. 

"Good morning son," a mom writes in a text. "I just wanted to be the first to possibly congratulate both you and Michael: The United States Supreme Court has just ruled that all states in the United States are required to allow same-sex couples to marry and, equally important, that it be recognized as such, without argument. Big day, son."

It is so ordered.