‘‘My gut says that the next six months are going to be really hard,’’ he said. ‘‘When I heard the Supreme Court would consider Prop 8, my initial feeling was ‘Here we go again.’’’

In Cambridge, Mass., Kevin McDonald, 26, a graduate student at Harvard, said he was ‘‘pretty excited’’ to hear about the decision, but drew comparisons to the unwelcome ramifications for the abortion rights movement.

‘’I’m not sure we’re there yet — we’re making really good progress — but I don’t want to see that progress impeded somehow, with a ruling that makes people feel like they don’t have control over something so fundamental like marriage,’’ he said.