A pair of rulings in favor of LGBT rights Wednesday cleared the way for greater rights for same-sex couples in the United States. The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) first struck down the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) as unconstitutional and then sent a case involving California’s Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage, back to the state, effectively making the unions legal.

Both rulings had slim 5-4 majorities, but the composition wasn’t the same.

Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the majority in the DOMA case, saying it was “invalid, for no legitimate purpose overcomes the purpose and effect to disparage and injure those whom the State, by its marriage laws, sought to protect in personhood and dignity.” He said that by treating one class of marriages as “less respected than others, the federal statute is in violation of the Fifth Amendment.”

That decision removes restrictions on federal benefits for same-sex couples that were instituted by the law, which passed in 1996 with support from both parties and President Bill Clinton.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel issued a statement shortly after the ruling became public, saying that the Department of Defense “will immediately begin the process of implementing the Supreme Court’s decision” and “intends to make the same benefits available to all military spouses – regardless of sexual orientation – as soon possible. That is now the law and it is the right thing to do.” LGBT rights in the military were a major focus of President Obama’s first term in office. The military’s “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gays serving in the armed forces ended in 2011.

Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan all joined Kennedy. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia, and Samuel Alito all opposed, offering three different written dissents.

Scalia signaled his strong disagreement with the majority by reading parts of his dissent from the bench, characterizing the question as one best left to “the people.” Instead, he said their decision was “a lecture on how superior the majority’s moral judgment in favor of same-sex marriage is.”

The other case was less straightforward, as SCOTUS decided that it did not have jurisdiction to rule one way or the other. Since a federal district court had struck it down previously, that decision has the effect of making gay marriage legal in California again.

Where the DOMA ruling followed usual ideological lines, the Proposition 8 decision looked decidedly unusual.

Roberts wrote the majority opinion, joining with Scalia, Ginsburg, Breyer, and Kagan to say that there was no precedent for SCOTUS recognizing “the standing of a private party to defend the constitutionality of a state statute when state officials have chosen not to.”

Kennedy wrote the dissent, joined by Thomas, Alito, and Sotomayor, saying that the supporters of Proposition 8 did, in fact, have standing.

The SCOTUS rulings mark a major step forward for those championing LGBT rights.