The United States Supreme Court made two much-awaited decisions on the controversial topic of same-sex marriage on June 26, striking down both the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which denies benefits to same-sex married couples, and Proposition 8 (Prop 8), a voter-approved California state law that banned gay marriage.

Reuters.com reports that Section 3 of the DOMA, which defined marriage as solely between a man and a woman for the purpose of federal benefits, was found to have violated the constitution’s guarantee of equal protection under the law. Due to this decision, all the legally married gay couples in the country can now claim the more than 1,100 federal benefits and rights they should have been entitled to long ago.

On the other hand, striking down Prop 8 means that gay couples can now get married in California, but that each state can create their own policy on gay marriage.

Though these rulings still have no impact on the states that have yet to sanction same-sex marriage, it is still a big leap for gay rights in America, and several Hollywood celebrities have expressed their joy over the ruling. Among them is Kristen Bell, who had vowed to get married to her boyfriend, Dax Shephard, when marriage equality finally exists in the U.S. Huffington Post reports that when the DOMA ruling was announced, the Veronica Mars actress proposed via Twitter to Dax, who gladly said yes.

Scroll down the gallery to see a few more celebrity reactions on the DOMA and Prop 8 ruling.

(Photo by Pedram via Flickr Creative Commons)