Within minutes of the announcement of the Supreme Court ruling, a gigantic rainbow flag was unfurled at the entrance of City Hall. San Francisco, like other California cities, has been issuing same-sex marriage licenses since the state Supreme Court deemed them legal two years ago, but the momentous weight of federal recognition made things different, more special.

No longer will a same-sex union be recognized only in a hodge-podge map of America, those who gathered in civic center plaza said with a touch of amazement in their voices — but from coast to coast, for the first time ever.

“It means we’re just like everybody else. We’re humans. We’re no longer seen as different in the eyes of the government,” said gay San Francisco resident Bobbee Moore, 35, who was among the growing crowd celebrating in front of the City Hall building.