U.S. President Barack Obama during a joint news conference with Senegal's President Macky Sall at the Presidential Palace in Dakar, June 27, 2013.
Obama Praises, Criticizes Supreme Court
U.S. President Barack Obama says the Supreme Court's rulings this week on gay marriage were a victory for American democracy.
Speaking at a news conference with Senegal's President Macky Sall in Dakar, Obama said regardless of race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation the law should treat people equally.
Obama said gays and lesbians should be treated as equal under the law in Africa, where in many countries homosexuality is illegal. But President Sall says Senegal is not ready to decriminalize homosexuality.
American University students Sharon Burk, left, and Molly Wagner, embrace outside the Supreme Court in Washington, June 26, 2013.
The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday the federal government could not define marriage as only being between a man and a woman.
In comments on another decision, President Obama said the Supreme Court "made a mistake" in its decision to throw out a provision of the U.S. Voting Rights Act.
The court said the government was using decades-old information to determine which states or localities with a history of discrimination need federal approval to change their voting rules.
Obama urged Congress to come up with ways to make it easier for people to vote.
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