How faith-based employers could be affected by a ruling in favor of L.G.B.T. employees remains to be seen. More than 20 states and Washington, D.C., have passed job protections for L.G.B.T. people.

"Justice is a divine characteristic of God himself. Whether we are Christian, Jewish or Muslim in heritage—we all believe that God is perfectly just and always merciful," Washington's archbishop said.

The nonprofit group Hope Border Institute, based in El Paso, Texas, said the court's decision reflects "a disturbing pattern that emerges when the Supreme Court starts using its power, however temporarily, to greenlight Trump's anti-immigrant agenda."

Unlike other nations that prohibit or narrowly restrict ownership of high-body-count weaponry and ammunition, the United States is hindered in establishing effective gun control by federal and state constitutional roadblocks. Understanding these roadblocks is essential to devising a route around them.

From his appointment by President Gerald Ford in 1975 through his retirement in June 2010, he shaped decisions that touched countless aspects of American life.

The Supreme Court ruled that a 40-foot tall, cross-shaped World War I memorial can continue to stand on public land in Maryland.