Obergefell v. Hodges Decision Announced at the Supreme Court of the United States, June 26, 201
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''Obergefell v. Hodges'', ( ), is a
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LGBT rights case in which the
Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the
Due Process Clause In United States constitutional law, a Due Process Clause is found in both the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, which prohibits arbitrary deprivation of "life, liberty, or property" by the government except as ...
and the
Equal Protection Clause The Equal Protection Clause is part of the first section of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The clause, which took effect in 1868, provides "''nor shall any State ... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal ...
of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution. The 5–4 ruling requires all
fifty states The United States of America is a federal republic consisting of 50 states, a federal district (Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States), five major territories, and various minor islands. Both the states and the United S ...
, the District of Columbia, and the Insular Areas to perform and recognize the marriages of same-sex couples on the same terms and conditions as the marriages of opposite-sex couples, with all the accompanying rights and responsibilities. Prior to ''Obergefell'', same-sex marriage had already been established by statute, court ruling, or voter initiative in thirty-six states, the District of Columbia, and Guam. Between January 2012 and February 2014, plaintiffs in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee filed federal district court cases that culminated in ''Obergefell v. Hodges''. After all district courts ruled for the plaintiffs, the rulings were appealed to the Sixth Circuit. In November 2014, following a series of
appeals court A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...
rulings that year from the Fourth, Seventh,
Ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...
, and Tenth Circuits that state-level bans on same-sex marriage were unconstitutional, the Sixth Circuit ruled that it was bound by ''
Baker v. Nelson ''Richard John Baker v. Gerald R. Nelson'', 291 Minn. 310, 191 N.W.2d 185 (1971), was a case in which the Minnesota Supreme Court decided that construing a marriage statute to restrict marriage licenses to persons of the opposite sex "does not ...
'' and found such bans to be constitutional. This created a split between circuits and led to a Supreme Court review. Decided on June 26, 2015, ''Obergefell'' overturned ''Baker'' and requires all states to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and to recognize same-sex marriages validly performed in other jurisdictions. This established same-sex marriage throughout the United States and its territories. In a
majority opinion In law, a majority opinion is a judicial opinion agreed to by more than half of the members of a court. A majority opinion sets forth the decision of the court and an explanation of the rationale behind the court's decision. Not all cases have ...
authored by Justice Anthony Kennedy, the Court examined the nature of fundamental rights guaranteed to all by the Constitution, the harm done to individuals by delaying the implementation of such rights while the democratic process plays out, and the evolving understanding of discrimination and inequality that has developed greatly since ''Baker''.


Lawsuits in the district courts

The U.S. Supreme Court case of ''Obergefell v. Hodges'' is not the culmination of one lawsuit. Ultimately, it is the consolidation of six lower-court cases, originally representing sixteen same-sex couples, seven of their children, a widower, an adoption agency, and a funeral director. Those cases came from Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. All six federal district court rulings found for the same-sex couples and other
claimant A plaintiff ( Π in legal shorthand) is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an ''action'') before a court. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks a legal remedy. If this search is successful, the court will issue judgment in favor of the ...
s.


Michigan case: ''DeBoer v. Snyder''

One case came from Michigan, involving a female couple and their three children. April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse held a commitment ceremony in February 2007. They were foster parents. A son was born on January 25, 2009, and adopted by Rowse in November. A daughter was born on February 1, 2010, and adopted by DeBoer in April 2011. A second son was born on November 9, 2009, and adopted by Rowse in October 2011. Michigan law allowed adoption only by single people or married couples. Consequently, on January 23, 2012, DeBoer and Rowse filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan (Southern Division, Detroit), '' DeBoer v. Snyder'', alleging Michigan's adoption law was unconstitutional. Richard Snyder, the lead defendant, was then governor of Michigan. During a hearing on August 29, 2012, Judge
Bernard A. Friedman Bernard A. Friedman (born September 23, 1943) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Education and career Born in Detroit, Michigan, Friedman received a Juris Doctor f ...
expressed reservations regarding plaintiffs' cause of action, suggesting they amend their complaint to challenge the state's ban on same-sex marriage. The plaintiffs amended their complaint accordingly on September 7. During a hearing on March 7, 2013, Friedman decided to delay the case until the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in '' United States v. Windsor'' and ''
Hollingsworth v. Perry ''Hollingsworth v. Perry'' was a series of United States federal court cases that re-legalized same-sex marriage in the state of California. The case began in 2009 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, which found that ...
'', hoping for guidance. On October 16, Friedman set trial for February 25, 2014. The trial ended March 7. On March 21, Friedman ruled for the plaintiffs, concluding that, "without some overriding legitimate interest, the state cannot use its domestic relations authority to legislate families out of existence. Having failed to establish such an interest in the context of same-sex marriage, the
tate marriage ban Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...
cannot stand."


Ohio cases


''Obergefell v. Kasich''

Two cases came from Ohio, the first ultimately involving a male couple, a widower, and a funeral director. In June 2013, following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in '' United States v. Windsor'', James "Jim" Obergefell ( ) and John Arthur decided to marry to obtain legal recognition of their relationship. They married in Maryland on July 11. After learning that their state of residence, Ohio, would not recognize their marriage, they filed a lawsuit, ''Obergefell v. Kasich'', in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio (Western Division, Cincinnati) on July 19, 2013, alleging that the state discriminates against same-sex couples who have married lawfully out-of-state. The lead defendant was Ohio Governor John Kasich. Because one partner, John Arthur, was terminally ill and suffering from
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most comm ...
(ALS), they wanted the Ohio Registrar to identify the other partner, James Obergefell, as his surviving spouse on his death certificate, based on their marriage in Maryland. The local Ohio Registrar agreed that discriminating against the same-sex married couple was unconstitutional, but the state attorney general's office announced plans to defend Ohio's same-sex marriage ban. As the case progressed, on July 22, District Judge
Timothy S. Black Timothy Seymour Black (born August 30, 1953) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. Education Black earned an Artium Baccalaureus from Harvard College in 1975 and then ...
granted the couple's motion, temporarily restraining the Ohio Registrar from accepting any death certificate unless it recorded the deceased's status at death as "married" and his partner as "surviving spouse". Black wrote that " roughout Ohio's history, Ohio law has been clear: a marriage solemnized outside of Ohio is valid in Ohio if it is valid where solemnized", and noted that certain marriages between cousins or minors, while unlawful if performed in Ohio, are recognized by the state if lawful when solemnized in other jurisdictions. Ohio Attorney General
Mike DeWine Richard Michael DeWine (; born January 5, 1947) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 70th and current governor of Ohio. A member of the Republican Party, DeWine began his career as a prosecutor before being elected to the O ...
indicated he would not appeal the preliminary order. On August 13, Black extended the temporary restraining order until the end of December and scheduled oral arguments on injunctive relief, which is permanent, for December 18. Meanwhile, on July 22, 2013, David Michener and William Herbert Ives married in Delaware. They had three adoptive children. On August 27, William Ives died unexpectedly in Cincinnati, Ohio. His remains were being held at a Cincinnati funeral home pending the issuance of a death certificate, required before cremation, the deceased's desired funeral rite. As surviving spouse David Michener's name could not by Ohio law appear on the death certificate, he sought legal remedy, being added as a plaintiff in the case on September 3. As the newly amended case moved forward, on September 25, Black granted a September 19 motion by the plaintiffs to dismiss the governor and the state attorney general as defendants, and to add funeral director Robert Grunn to the lawsuit so that he could obtain clarification of his legal obligations under Ohio law when serving clients with same-sex spouses, such as his client James Obergefell. Ohio Health Department Director Theodore Wymyslo was substituted as the lead defendant, and the case was restyled ''Obergefell v. Wymyslo''. On October 22, plaintiff John Arthur died. The state defendants moved to dismiss the case as moot. Judge Black, in an order dated November 1, denied the motion to dismiss. On December 23, Judge Black ruled that Ohio's refusal to recognize same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions was discriminatory and ordered Ohio to recognize same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions on death certificates. He wrote, "When a state effectively terminates the marriage of a same-sex couple married in another jurisdiction, it intrudes into the realm of private marital, family, and intimate relations specifically protected by the Supreme Court."


''Henry v. Wymyslo''

The second case from Ohio involved four couples, a child, and an adoption agency. Georgia Nicole Yorksmith and Pamela Yorksmith married in California on October 14, 2008. They had a son in 2010 and were expecting another child. In 2011, Kelly Noe and Kelly McCraken married in Massachusetts. They were expecting a child. Joseph J. Vitale and Robert Talmas married in New York on September 20, 2011. In 2013, they sought the services of the adoption agency, Adoption S.T.A.R., finally adopting a son on January 17, 2014, the same day Brittani Henry and Brittni Rogers married in New York. They, too, were expecting a son. The three female couples were living in Ohio, each anticipating the birth of a child later in 2014. Vitale and Talmas were living in New York with their adopted son, Child Doe, born in Ohio in 2013 and also a plaintiff through his parents. On February 10, 2014, the four legally married couples filed a lawsuit, ''Henry v. Wymyslo'', also in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio (Western Division, Cincinnati), to force the state to list both parents on their children's birth certificates. Adoption agency, Adoption S.T.A.R., sued due to the added and inadequate services Ohio law forced it to provide to same-sex parents adopting in the state. Theodore Wymyslo, the lead defendant, was then director of the Ohio Department of Health. As the case moved forward, the plaintiffs amended their complaint to ask the court to declare Ohio's recognition ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. Judge Black gave the state time to prepare its appeal of his decision by announcing on April 4 that he would issue an order on April 14 requiring Ohio to recognize same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions. Following the resignation of the lead defendant, Ohio's director of health, Ted Wymyslo, for reasons unrelated to the case, Lance Himes became interim director, and the case was restyled ''Henry v. Himes''. On April 14, Black ruled that Ohio must recognize same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions, and, on April 16, stayed enforcement of his ruling, except for the birth certificates sought by the plaintiffs.


Kentucky cases


''Bourke v. Beshear''

Two cases came from Kentucky, the first ultimately involving four same-sex couples and their six children. Gregory Bourke and Michael DeLeon married in Ontario, Canada, on March 29, 2004. They had two children: Plaintiff I.D., a fourteen-year-old girl, and Plaintiff I.D., a fifteen-year-old boy. Randell Johnson and Paul Campion married in California on July 3, 2008. They had four children: Plaintiffs T.J.-C. and T.J.-C., twin eighteen-year-old boys, Plaintiff D.J.-C., a fourteen-year-old boy, and Plaintiff M.J.-C., a ten-year-old girl. Jimmy Meade and Luther Barlowe married in Iowa on July 30, 2009. Kimberly Franklin and Tamera Boyd married in Connecticut on July 15, 2010. All resided in Kentucky. On July 26, 2013, Bourke and DeLeon, and their two children through them, filed a lawsuit, '' Bourke v. Beshear'', in the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky (Louisville Division), challenging Kentucky's bans on same-sex marriage and the recognition of same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions.
Steve Beshear Steven Lynn Beshear (born September 21, 1944) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 61st governor of Kentucky from 2007 to 2015. He served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1974 to 1980, was the state's 44th atto ...
, the lead defendant, was then governor of Kentucky. Subsequently, on August 16, the complaint was amended to bring Johnson and Campion, their four children through them, and Meade and Barlowe into the case, again challenging the state's bans on same-sex marriage and the recognition of same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions. On November 1, the complaint was amended again to bring Franklin and Boyd into the case, now challenging only Kentucky's ban on the recognition of same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions. Originally, the couple had filed their own lawsuit, ''Franklin v. Beshear'', with the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, but a change of venue was ordered for convenience, with the intent formally to consolidate the case with ''Bourke''. Consolidation never occurred, and that separate case was dismissed for failure to raise new claims. On February 12, 2014, Judge
John G. Heyburn II John Gilpin Heyburn II (November 12, 1948 – April 29, 2015) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. Heyburn served as the Chief Judge of the Court between 2001 and 2008. Earl ...
issued the court's decision: "In the end, the Court concludes that Kentucky's denial of recognition for valid same-sex marriages violates the United States Constitution's guarantee of equal protection under the law, even under the most deferential standard of review. Accordingly, Kentucky's statutes and constitutional amendment that mandate this denial are unconstitutional."


''Love v. Beshear''

The second case from Kentucky, '' Love v. Beshear'', involved two male couples. Maurice Blanchard and Dominique James held a religious marriage ceremony on June 3, 2006. Kentucky county clerks repeatedly refused them marriage licenses. Timothy Love and Lawrence Ysunza had been living together as a couple for thirty years when, on February 13, 2014, they were refused a marriage license at the Jefferson County Clerk's office. On February 14, the next day, the couples submitted a motion to join ''Bourke v. Beshear'', challenging the state's ban on same-sex marriage. The motion was granted on February 27, and the case was
bifurcated Bifurcation or bifurcated may refer to: Science and technology * Bifurcation theory, the study of sudden changes in dynamical systems ** Bifurcation, of an incompressible flow, modeled by squeeze mapping the fluid flow * River bifurcation, the for ...
, the instant action restyled as ''Love v. Beshear'', on February 28. On July 1, 2014, Judge Heyburn issued his ruling. He found "homosexual persons constitute a
quasi-suspect class In United States constitutional law, a suspect classification is a class or group of persons meeting a series of criteria suggesting they are likely the subject of discrimination. These classes receive closer scrutiny by courts when an Equal Protec ...
", and ordered that Kentucky's laws banning same-sex marriage "violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and they are void and unenforceable." In the course of assessing the state's arguments for the bans, he stated, "These arguments are not those of serious people."


Tennessee case: ''Tanco v. Haslam''

One case came from Tennessee, involving four same-sex couples. Joy "Johno" Espejo and Matthew Mansell married in California on August 5, 2008. On September 25, 2009, they adopted two foster children. After Mansell's job was transferred to the state, they relocated to Franklin, Tennessee, in May 2012. Kellie Miller and Vanessa DeVillez married in New York on July 24, 2011, later moving to Tennessee. Army Reservist Sergeant First Class Ijpe DeKoe and Thomas Kostura married in New York on August 4, 2011. In May 2012, after completing a tour of duty in Afghanistan, Sergeant DeKoe was restationed in Memphis, Tennessee, where the couple subsequently relocated. On September 3, 2013, the Department of Defense began recognizing their marriage, but the state did not. Valeria Tanco and Sophia Jesty married in New York on September 9, 2011, then moved to Tennessee, where they were university professors. They were expecting their first child in 2014. On October 21, 2013, wishing to have their out-of-state marriages recognized in Tennessee, the four couples filed a lawsuit, ''
Tanco v. Haslam ''Tanco v. Haslam'' was the lead case in the dispute of same-sex marriage in Tennessee. A U.S. District Court granted a preliminary injunction requiring the state to recognize the marriages of the plaintiffs, three same-sex couples. The court foun ...
'', in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee (Nashville Division). William Edwards Haslam, the lead defendant, was then governor of Tennessee. As the case progressed, on November 19, 2013, the plaintiffs moved for a preliminary injunction enjoining the state from applying its marriage recognition ban against them. On March 10, 2014, plaintiff couple Kellie Miller and Vanessa DeVillez withdrew from the case. On March 14, Judge Aleta Arthur Trauger granted a preliminary injunction requiring the state to recognize the marriages of the three plaintiff couples. She wrote, "At this point, all signs indicate that, in the eyes of the United States Constitution, the plaintiffs' marriages will be placed on an equal footing with those of heterosexual couples and that proscriptions against same-sex marriage will soon become a footnote in the annals of American history." The state immediately filed a motion to stay this ruling, but, on March 20, Judge Trauger denied the request, reasoning that "the court's order does not open the floodgates for same-sex couples to marry in Tennessee ... ndapplies only to the three same-sex couples at issue in this case."


Reversal by the Sixth Circuit

The six decisions of the four federal district courts were appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Ohio's director of health appealed ''Obergefell v. Wymyslo'' on January 16, 2014. The governor of Tennessee appealed ''Tanco v. Haslam'' on March 18. On March 21, the governor of Michigan appealed ''DeBoer v. Snyder''. The governor of Kentucky appealed ''Bourke v. Beshear'' and ''Love v. Beshear'' on March 18 and July 8, respectively. And on May 9 Ohio's director of health appealed ''Henry v. Himes''. Subsequently, on May 20, the Sixth Circuit consolidated ''Obergefell v. Himes'' with ''Henry v. Himes'' for the purposes of briefing and oral argument. (On April 15, after Ohio's governor, John Kasich, appointed Lance Himes interim health director on February 21, ''Obergefell'' was restyled ''Obergefell v. Himes''.) Upon prior motion by the parties, the Sixth Circuit also consolidated ''Bourke v. Beshear'' and ''Love v. Beshear'' on July 16. On August 6, the three-judge panel consisting of Judges
Jeffrey Sutton Jeffrey Stuart Sutton (born October 31, 1960) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as the chief circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Early life and career Sutton received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history fr ...
,
Deborah L. Cook Deborah Louise Cook (born February 8, 1952) is a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, based in Akron, Ohio. She served as a justice of the Ohio Supreme Court from 1995 to 2003. Backgrou ...
, and
Martha Craig Daughtrey Martha Craig "Cissy"
Kathryn Reed Edge, Tennessee Richard Hodges, by the appointment of Ohio governor John Kasich, succeeded Himes as Ohio's health director, and ''Obergefell'' was again retitled, this time as its final iteration of ''Obergefell v. Hodges''. On November 6, 2014, in a decision styled ''DeBoer v. Snyder'', the Sixth Circuit ruled 2–1 that Ohio's ban on same-sex marriage did not violate the U.S. Constitution. The court said it was bound by the U.S. Supreme Court's 1972 action in a similar case, ''
Baker v. Nelson ''Richard John Baker v. Gerald R. Nelson'', 291 Minn. 310, 191 N.W.2d 185 (1971), was a case in which the Minnesota Supreme Court decided that construing a marriage statute to restrict marriage licenses to persons of the opposite sex "does not ...
'', which dismissed a same-sex couple's marriage claim "for want of a substantial federal question". Writing for the majority, Judge Sutton also dismissed the arguments made on behalf of same-sex couples in this case: "Not one of the plaintiffs' theories, however, makes the case for constitutionalizing the definition of marriage and for removing the issue from the place it has been since the founding: in the hands of state voters." Dissenting, Judge Daughtrey wrote:


Before the Supreme Court


Petitions for writs of certiorari

Claimant A plaintiff ( Π in legal shorthand) is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an ''action'') before a court. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks a legal remedy. If this search is successful, the court will issue judgment in favor of the ...
s from each of the six district court cases appealed to the
Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
. On November 14, 2014, the same-sex couples, widowers, child plaintiff, and funeral director in ''DeBoer v. Snyder'', ''Obergefell v. Hodges'', and ''Tanco v. Haslam'' filed petitions for writs of
certiorari In law, ''certiorari'' is a court process to seek judicial review of a decision of a lower court or government agency. ''Certiorari'' comes from the name of an English prerogative writ, issued by a superior court to direct that the record of ...
with the Court. Adoption agency Adoption S.T.A.R. did not petition. The same-sex couples in ''Bourke v. Beshear'' filed their petition for a writ of certiorari with the Court on November 18. The ''DeBoer'' petitioners presented the Court with the question of whether denying same-sex couples the right to marry violated the Fourteenth Amendment. The ''Obergefell'' petitioners asked the Court to consider whether Ohio's refusal to recognize marriages from other jurisdictions violated the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantees of
due process Due process of law is application by state of all legal rules and principles pertaining to the case so all legal rights that are owed to the person are respected. Due process balances the power of law of the land and protects the individual pers ...
and equal protection, and whether the state's refusal to recognize the adoption judgment of another state violated the U.S. Constitution's Full Faith and Credit Clause. The ''Tanco'' petitioners asked the Court to consider three questions: whether denying same-sex couples the right to marry, including recognition of out-of-state marriages, violated the Due Process or Equal Protections Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment; whether refusing to recognize their out-of-state marriages violated same-sex couples' right to interstate travel; and whether ''Baker v. Nelson'' (1972), summarily dismissing same-sex couples' marriage claims, remained binding precedent. Lastly, the ''Bourke'' petitioners posed to the Court two questions: whether a state violates the Due Process or Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment by prohibiting same-sex couples to marry, and whether it does so by refusing to recognize out-of-state same-sex marriages.


Merits briefs

On January 16, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court consolidated the four same-sex marriage cases challenging state laws that prohibited same-sex marriage—'' DeBoer v. Snyder'' (Michigan), ''Obergefell v. Hodges'' (Ohio), '' Bourke v. Beshear'' (Kentucky), and ''
Tanco v. Haslam ''Tanco v. Haslam'' was the lead case in the dispute of same-sex marriage in Tennessee. A U.S. District Court granted a preliminary injunction requiring the state to recognize the marriages of the plaintiffs, three same-sex couples. The court foun ...
'' (Tennessee)—and agreed to review the case. It set a briefing schedule to be completed April 17. The Court ordered briefing and oral argument on the following questions: # Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex? # Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out-of-state? The Court also told the parties to each of the four cases to address only the questions raised in their particular case. Thus, ''Obergefell'' raises only the second question, the recognition of same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions. The case had 148 '' amici curiae briefs'' submitted, more than any other U.S. Supreme Court case, including a historic ''amicus'' brief, written by Morgan Lewis partner Susan Baker Manning, on behalf of 379 business entities, which stated a business case for legalizing same-sex marriage across the country.


Oral argument

Oral arguments in the case were heard on April 28, 2015. The plaintiffs were represented by civil rights lawyer Mary Bonauto and Washington, D.C. lawyer Douglas Hallward-Driemeier.
U.S. Solicitor General The solicitor general of the United States is the fourth-highest-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice. Elizabeth Prelogar has been serving in the role since October 28, 2021. The United States solicitor general represent ...
Donald B. Verrilli Jr. Donald Beaton Verrilli Jr. (born June 29, 1957) is an American lawyer who served as the Solicitor General of the United States from 2011 into 2016. He was sworn into the post on June 9, 2011. On June 6, 2011, the United States Senate confirmed Ve ...
, representing the United States, also argued for the same-sex couples. The states were represented by former Michigan Solicitor General
John J. Bursch John J. Bursch (born 1972) was the 10th Michigan Solicitor General. He was appointed by Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette on February 28, 2011. Prior to being Michigan Solicitor General, Bursch served as chair of the Appellate Practice and P ...
and Joseph R. Whalen, an associate solicitor general from Tennessee. Of the nine justices, all except Clarence Thomas made comments and asked questions, giving clues as to their positions on the Constitution and the future of same-sex marriage. While the questions and comments of the justices during oral arguments are an imperfect indicator of their final decisions, the justices appeared sharply divided in their approaches to this issue, splitting as they often do along ideological lines, with Justice Anthony Kennedy being pivotal. It was thought Chief Justice John Roberts could be pivotal as well. Despite his past views, and his dissent in ''Windsor'', Roberts made comments during oral argument suggesting that the bans in question may constitute sex discrimination. In his opinion, however, he argued that same-sex marriage bans were constitutional.


Opinion of the Court

On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court held in a 5–4 decision that the Fourteenth Amendment requires all states to grant same-sex marriages and recognize same-sex marriages granted in other states. The Court overruled its prior decision in ''
Baker v. Nelson ''Richard John Baker v. Gerald R. Nelson'', 291 Minn. 310, 191 N.W.2d 185 (1971), was a case in which the Minnesota Supreme Court decided that construing a marriage statute to restrict marriage licenses to persons of the opposite sex "does not ...
'', which the Sixth Circuit had invoked as precedent. The ''Obergefell v. Hodges'' decision came on the second anniversary of the '' United States v. Windsor'' ruling that struck down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which denied federal recognition to same-sex marriages, as being unconstitutional. It also came on the twelfth anniversary of ''
Lawrence v. Texas ''Lawrence v. Texas'', 539 U.S. 558 (2003), is a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that most sanctions of criminal punishment for consensual, adult non- procreative sexual activity (commonly referred to as so ...
'', which struck down sodomy laws in 13 states. The ''Obergefell'' decision was issued on the second-to-last decision day of the Court's term; and, as late as 9:59 on the morning of the decision, same sex couples were unable to marry in many states. The justices' opinions in ''Obergefell'' are consistent with their opinions in ''Windsor'' which rejected DOMA's recognition of only opposite-sex marriages for certain purposes under federal law. In both cases, Justice Kennedy authored the majority opinions and was considered the "swing vote". Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Scalia, Thomas, and Alito each wrote a separate dissenting opinion. The Chief Justice read part of his dissenting opinion from the bench, his first time doing so since joining the Court in 2005.


Majority opinion

Justice Anthony Kennedy authored the
majority opinion In law, a majority opinion is a judicial opinion agreed to by more than half of the members of a court. A majority opinion sets forth the decision of the court and an explanation of the rationale behind the court's decision. Not all cases have ...
and was joined by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg,
Stephen Breyer Stephen Gerald Breyer ( ; born August 15, 1938) is a retired American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1994 until his retirement in 2022. He was nominated by President Bill Clinton, and repl ...
, Sonia Sotomayor, and
Elena Kagan Elena Kagan ( ; born April 28, 1960) is an American lawyer who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She was nominated by President Barack Obama on May 10, 2010, and has served since August 7, 2010. Kagan ...
. The majority held that state same-sex marriage bans are a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment's
Due Process Due process of law is application by state of all legal rules and principles pertaining to the case so all legal rights that are owed to the person are respected. Due process balances the power of law of the land and protects the individual pers ...
and Equal Protection Clauses. "The Constitution promises liberty to all within its reach," the Court declared, "a liberty that includes certain specific rights that allow persons, within a lawful realm, to define and express their identity." Citing '' Griswold v. Connecticut'', the Court affirmed that the fundamental rights found in the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause "extend to certain personal choices central to individual dignity and autonomy, including intimate choices that define personal identity and beliefs," but the "identification and protection" of these fundamental rights "has not been reduced to any formula." As the Supreme Court has found in cases such as ''
Loving v. Virginia ''Loving v. Virginia'', 388 U.S. 1 (1967), was a List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark civil rights decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that Anti-miscegenation laws in the United States, laws ban ...
'', ''
Zablocki v. Redhail ''Zablocki v. Redhail'', 434 U.S. 374 (1978), was a Supreme Court of the United States, U.S. Supreme Court decision that held that Wisconsin Statutes §§ 245.10 (1), (4), (5) (1973) violated the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constituti ...
'', and ''
Turner v. Safley ''Turner v. Safley'', 482 U.S. 78 (1987), was a U.S. Supreme Court decision involving the constitutionality of two Missouri prison regulations. One of the prisoners' claims related to the fundamental right to marry, and the other related to freedo ...
'', this extension includes a fundamental right to marry. The Court rejected respondent states' framing of the issue as whether there were a "right to same-sex marriage," insisting its precedents "inquired about the right to marry in its comprehensive sense, asking if there was a sufficient justification for excluding the relevant class from the right." Addressing the formula in ''
Washington v. Glucksberg ''Washington v. Glucksberg'', 521 U.S. 702 (1997), was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, which unanimously held that a right to assisted suicide in the United States was not protected by the Due Process Clause. Background Dr. Harold ...
'' that fundamental rights had to be "deeply rooted" in the nation's history and traditions, the Court said that it is "inconsistent with the approach this Court has used" in ''Loving'', ''Turner'', and ''Zablocki''. It continued, "If rights were defined by who exercised them in the past, then received practices could serve as their own continued justification and new groups could not invoke rights once denied." Citing its prior decisions in ''Loving'' and ''
Lawrence v. Texas ''Lawrence v. Texas'', 539 U.S. 558 (2003), is a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that most sanctions of criminal punishment for consensual, adult non- procreative sexual activity (commonly referred to as so ...
'', the Court framed the issue accordingly in ''Obergefell''. The Court listed four distinct reasons why the fundamental right to marry applies to same-sex couples, citing '' United States v. Windsor'' in support throughout its discussion. First, "the right to personal choice regarding marriage is inherent in the concept of individual autonomy." Second, "the right to marry is fundamental because it supports a two-person union unlike any other in its importance to the committed individuals," a principle applying equally to same-sex couples. Third, the fundamental right to marry "safeguards children and families and thus draws meaning from related rights of childrearing, procreation, and education"; as same-sex couples have children and families, they are deserving of this safeguard—though the right to marry in the United States has never been conditioned on procreation. Fourth, and lastly, "marriage is a keystone of our social order," and " ere is no difference between same- and opposite-sex couples with respect to this principle"; consequently, preventing same-sex couples from marrying puts them at odds with society, denies them countless benefits of marriage, and introduces instability into their relationships for no justifiable reason. The Court noted the relationship between the liberty of the Due Process Clause and the equality of the Equal Protection Clause and determined that same-sex marriage bans violated the latter. Concluding that the liberty and equality of same-sex couples was significantly burdened, the Court struck down same-sex marriage bans for violating both clauses, holding that same-sex couples may exercise the fundamental right to marry in all fifty states "on the same terms and conditions as opposite-sex couples." Due to the "substantial and continuing harm" and the "instability and uncertainty" caused by state marriage laws differing with regard to same-sex couples, and because respondent states had conceded that a ruling requiring them to marry same-sex couples would undermine their refusal to hold valid same-sex marriages performed in other states, the Court also held that states must recognize same-sex marriages legally performed in other states. Addressing respondent states' argument, the Court emphasized that, while the democratic process may be an appropriate means for deciding issues such as same-sex marriage, no individual has to rely solely on the democratic process to exercise a fundamental right. "An individual can invoke a right to constitutional protection when he or she is harmed, even if the broader public disagrees and even if the legislature refuses to act," for "fundamental rights may not be submitted to a vote; they depend on the outcome of no elections." Furthermore, to rule against same-sex couples in this case, letting the democratic process play out as "a cautious approach to recognizing and protecting fundamental rights" would harm same-sex couples in the interim. Additionally, the Court rejected the notion that allowing same-sex couples to marry harms the institution of marriage, leading to fewer opposite-sex marriages through a severing of the link between procreation and marriage, calling the notion "counterintuitive" and "unrealistic". Instead, the Court stated that married same-sex couples "would pose no risk of harm to themselves or third parties".''Obergefell''
slip op.
at 27.
The majority also stressed that the First Amendment protects those who disagree with same-sex marriage. In closing, Justice Kennedy wrote for the Court:


Dissenting opinions


Chief Justice Roberts

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote a dissenting opinion, which was joined by Justices Scalia and Thomas. Roberts accepted substantive due process, by which fundamental rights are protected through the
Due Process Clause In United States constitutional law, a Due Process Clause is found in both the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, which prohibits arbitrary deprivation of "life, liberty, or property" by the government except as ...
, but warned it has been misused over time to expand perceived fundamental rights, particularly in '' Dred Scott v. Sandford'' and ''
Lochner v. New York ''Lochner v. New York'', 198 U.S. 45 (1905), was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that a New York state law setting maximum working hours for bakers violated the bakers' right to freedom of contract under t ...
''. Roberts stated that no prior decision had changed the core component of marriage, that it be between one man and one woman; consequently, same-sex marriage bans did not violate the Due Process Clause. Roberts also rejected the notion that same-sex marriage bans violated a right to privacy, because they involved no government intrusion or subsequent punishment. Addressing the
Equal Protection Clause The Equal Protection Clause is part of the first section of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The clause, which took effect in 1868, provides "''nor shall any State ... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal ...
, Roberts stated that same-sex marriage bans did not violate the clause because they were rationally related to a governmental interest: preserving the traditional definition of marriage. More generally, Roberts stated that marriage, which he proposed had always had a "universal definition" as "the union of a man and a woman", arose to ensure successful childrearing. Roberts criticized the majority opinion for relying on moral convictions rather than a constitutional basis, and for expanding fundamental rights without caution or regard for history. He also suggested the majority opinion could be used to expand marriage to include legalized polygamy. Roberts chided the majority for overriding the democratic process and for using the judiciary in a way that was not originally intended. According to Roberts, supporters of same-sex marriage cannot win "true acceptance" for their side because the debate has now been closed. Roberts also suggested the majority's opinion will ultimately lead to consequences for religious liberty, and he found the Court's language unfairly attacks opponents of same-sex marriage.


Justice Scalia

Justice
Antonin Scalia Antonin Gregory Scalia (; March 11, 1936 – February 13, 2016) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1986 until his death in 2016. He was described as the intellectu ...
wrote a dissenting opinion, which was joined by Justice Thomas. Scalia stated that the Court's decision effectively robs the people of "the freedom to govern themselves", noting that a rigorous debate on same-sex marriage had been taking place and that, by deciding the issue nationwide, the democratic process had been unduly halted. Addressing the claimed Fourteenth Amendment violation, Scalia asserted that, because a same-sex marriage ban would not have been considered unconstitutional at the time of the Fourteenth Amendment's adoption, such bans are not unconstitutional today.''Obergefell''
slip op.
at 4 (Scalia, J., dissenting).
He claimed there was "no basis" for the Court's decision striking down legislation that the Fourteenth Amendment does not expressly forbid, and directly attacked the majority opinion for "lacking even a thin veneer of law". Lastly, Scalia faulted the actual writing in the opinion for "diminish ngthis Court's reputation for clear thinking and sober analysis" and for "descend ngfrom the disciplined legal reasoning of
John Marshall John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the fourth Chief Justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remains the longest-serving chief justice and fourth-longes ...
and Joseph Story to the mystical aphorisms of the fortune cookie."


Justice Thomas

Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a dissenting opinion, which was joined by Justice Scalia. Thomas rejected the principle of substantive due process, which he claimed "invites judges to do exactly what the majority has done here—roa at large in the constitutional field guided only by their personal views as to the fundamental rights protected by that document"; in doing so, the judiciary strays from the Constitution's text, subverts the democratic process, and "exalts judges at the expense of the People from whom they derive their authority." Thomas argued that the only liberty that falls under Due Process Clause protection is freedom from "physical restraint". Furthermore, Thomas insisted that "liberty has long been understood as individual freedom ''from'' governmental action, not as a right ''to'' a particular governmental entitlement" such as a marriage license. According to Thomas, the majority's holding also undermines the political process and threatens religious liberty. Lastly, Thomas took issue with the majority's view that marriage advances the dignity of same-sex couples. In his view, government is not capable of bestowing dignity; rather, dignity is a natural right that is innate within every person, a right that cannot be taken away even through slavery and internment camps.


Justice Alito

Justice
Samuel Alito Samuel Anthony Alito Jr. ( ; born April 1, 1950) is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President George W. Bush on October 31, 2005, and has served ...
wrote a dissenting opinion, which was joined by Justices Scalia and Thomas. Invoking ''Glucksberg'', in which the Court stated the Due Process Clause protects only rights and liberties that are "deeply rooted in this Nation's history and tradition", Alito claimed any "right" to same-sex marriage would not meet this definition; he chided the justices in the majority for going against judicial precedent and long-held tradition. Alito defended the rationale of the states, accepting the premise that same-sex marriage bans serve to promote procreation and the optimal childrearing environment. Alito expressed concern that the majority's opinion would be used to attack the beliefs of those who disagree with same-sex marriage, who "will risk being labeled as bigots and treated as such by governments, employers, and schools", leading to "bitter and lasting wounds". Expressing concern for judicial abuse, Alito concluded, "Most Americans—understandably—will cheer or lament today's decision because of their views on the issue of same-sex marriage. But all Americans, whatever their thinking on that issue, should worry about what the majority's claim of power portends."


Effects


Reactions


Support

James Obergefell Jim Obergefell ( ; born 1966"Jim Obergefell." In ''Contemporary Authors Online''. Detroit, MI: Gale, 2017. ''Gale In Context: Biography'' (accessed September 11, 2019). https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/H1000322825/BIC?u=athe67392&sid=BIC&xid=72c64b ...
, the named plaintiff in ''Obergefell'' who sought to put his name on his husband's Ohio death certificate as surviving spouse, said, "Today's ruling from the Supreme Court affirms what millions across the country already know to be true in our hearts: that our love is equal." He expressed his hope that the term gay marriage soon will be a thing of the past and henceforth only be known as marriage. President Barack Obama praised the decision and called it a "victory for America". Hundreds of companies reacted positively to the Supreme Court decision by temporarily modifying their company logos on social media to include rainbows or other messages of support for the legalization of same-sex marriage. Jubilant supporters went to social media, public rallies, and Pride parades to celebrate the ruling. Media commentators highlighted the above-quoted passage from Kennedy's decision as a key statement countering many of the arguments put forth by same-sex marriage opponents and mirroring similar language in the 1967 decision in ''
Loving v. Virginia ''Loving v. Virginia'', 388 U.S. 1 (1967), was a List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark civil rights decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that Anti-miscegenation laws in the United States, laws ban ...
'', which abolished bans on inter-racial marriages, and the 1965 decision in '' Griswold v. Connecticut'', which affirmed married couples have a right of privacy. The paragraph was frequently repeated on social media after the ruling was reported. In 2015, due to the ruling, Justice Anthony Kennedy and the other justices of the Supreme Court were chosen as ''
The Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. The Advocate, The Advocates or Advocate may also refer to: Magazines * ''The Advocate'' (LGBT magazine), an LGBT magazine based in the United States *''The Harvard Advocate'', a literary magazin ...
s People of the Year.


Opposition

Conversely, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton called the Court's decision a "lawless ruling" and pledged free legal defense of state workers who refuse to marry couples on religious grounds. In a tweet, former Governor of Arkansas and then Republican candidate for the
2016 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2016 lists the national/federal elections held in 2016 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *7 January: Kirib ...
Mike Huckabee Michael Dale Huckabee (born August 24, 1955) is an American politician, Baptist minister, and political commentator who served as the 44th governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate for the Republican Party presidential nomina ...
wrote, "This flawed, failed decision is an out-of-control act of unconstitutional judicial tyranny." Austin R. Nimocks, senior counsel for the
Alliance Defending Freedom Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF, formerly Alliance Defense Fund) is an American conservative Christian legal advocacy group that works to curtail rights for LGBTQ people; expand Christian practices within public schools and in government; and ...
, a group that opposes same-sex marriage, accused the Court's majority of undermining freedom of speech, saying that "five lawyers took away the voices of more than 300 million Americans to continue to debate the most important social institution in the history of the world. . . . Nobody has the right to say that a mom or a woman or a dad or a man is irrelevant." Some, such as the '' National Catholic Register'' and ''
Christianity Today ''Christianity Today'' is an evangelical Christian media magazine founded in 1956 by Billy Graham. It is published by Christianity Today International based in Carol Stream, Illinois. ''The Washington Post'' calls ''Christianity Today'' "evange ...
'', raised concerns that there may be conflict between the ruling and religious liberty, echoing the arguments made by the dissenting justices. On May 4, 2017, Republican
Governor of Tennessee The governor of Tennessee is the head of government of the U.S. state of Tennessee. The governor is the only official in Tennessee state government who is directly elected by the voters of the entire state. The current governor is Bill Lee, a ...
Bill Haslam signed HB 1111/SB 1085 into law. The bill was seen by the
Human Rights Campaign The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is an American LGBTQ advocacy group. It is the largest LGBTQ political lobbying organization within the United States. Based in Washington, D.C., the organization focuses on protecting and expanding rights for LGB ...
as an attempt to challenge ''Obergefell v. Hodges''.


Compliance

Though the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage throughout the country in June 2015, there have been numerous counties refusing to issue marriage licenses to otherwise eligible same-sex couples in the states of Alabama, Texas, and Kentucky. Additionally, the overall status of same sex-marriage in the territory of American Samoa remains uncertain.


Alabama

After the ruling in ''Obergefell'', by September 4, 2015, officials in eleven Alabama counties stopped issuing all marriage licenses:
Autauga Autauga County is a County (United States), county located in the Central Alabama, central portion of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the population was 58,805. Its county seat is Prattville, Alabama, ...
, Bibb,
Chambers Chambers may refer to: Places Canada: * Chambers Township, Ontario United States: * Chambers County, Alabama *Chambers, Arizona, an unincorporated community in Apache County *Chambers, Nebraska * Chambers, West Virginia *Chambers Township, Holt ...
,
Choctaw The Choctaw (in the Choctaw language, Chahta) are a Native American people originally based in the Southeastern Woodlands, in what is now Alabama and Mississippi. Their Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choctaw people are ...
,
Clarke Clarke is a surname which means "clerk". The surname is of English and Irish origin and comes from the Latin . Variants include Clerk and Clark. Clarke is also uncommonly chosen as a given name. Irish surname origin Clarke is a popular surname i ...
, Cleburne,
Covington Covington may refer to: People * Covington (surname) Places United Kingdom * Covington, Cambridgeshire * Covington, South Lanarkshire United States * Covington, Georgia * Covington, Indiana * Covington, Kentucky, the largest American cit ...
, Elmore, Geneva,
Pike Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus of ...
, and Washington. On January 6, 2016, Alabama's Chief Justice, Roy Moore, issued a ruling forbidding state officials from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples; he faced ethics charges for this decree in May of that year and was subsequently suspended for the remainder of his term beginning that September. Following Moore's ruling, the previously listed counties continued to refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, while Elmore and Marengo Counties joined in their refusal. Chambers County began issuing marriage licences again in June 2016, and so by June 26, 2016, twelve counties were refusing to issue any marriage licenses: Autauga, Bibb, Choctaw, Clarke, Cleburne, Coosa, Covington, Elmore, Geneva, Marengo, Pike and Washington. By October 2016, Bibb, Coosa, and Marengo Counties had begun issuing licenses again, and by June 2017 so had Choctaw County. Until June 2019, eight counties still refused to issue marriage licences to any couple: Autauga, Clarke, Cleburne, Covington, Elmore, Geneva, Pike and Washington. At that time, the
Alabama Legislature The Alabama Legislature is the legislative branch of the state government of Alabama. It is a bicameral body composed of the House of Representatives and Senate. It is one of the few state legislatures in which members of both chambers serv ...
passed a bill that would change state law to replace marriage licences, which were applications put before a probate court, with marriage certificates, which are given to couples that file the required notarized forms. The bill was signed into law in May 2019 by Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, and it went into effect on August 29, 2019; all eight remaining holdout counties were required to begin issuing marriage certificates, and every county in Alabama is currently issuing marriage certificates to all couples, including otherwise eligible same-sex couples.


Texas

After the ruling in ''Obergefell'', six Texas counties initially refused to issue same-sex marriage licenses:
Hood Hood may refer to: Covering Apparel * Hood (headgear), type of head covering ** Article of Academic dress#Hood, academic dress ** Bondage hood, sex toy * Hoodie, hooded sweatshirt Anatomy * Clitoral hood, a hood of skin surrounding the clitori ...
, Irion,
Loving Loving may refer to: * Love, a range of human emotions * Loving (surname) * ''Loving v. Virginia'', a 1967 landmark United States Supreme Court civil rights case Film and television * ''Loving'' (1970 film), an American film * ''Loving'' (1 ...
, Mills, Swisher, and Throckmorton. Swisher and Throckmorton Counties began issuing marriage licenses by August 2015, and Loving and Mills Counties followed suit by September 2015. After September 4, 2015,
Irion County Irion County ( ) is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,513. Its county seat is Mertzon. The county is named for Robert Anderson Irion, a secretary of state of the R ...
was the only county that refused to issue marriage licenses, with the county clerk citing grounds of personal religious beliefs. However, as a result of the November 2020 elections, there is a new office holder for the position of Irion County Clerk, though if the new clerk would issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple remains unknown.


Kentucky

Three Kentucky counties were not confirmed to be issuing or refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples: Whitley, Casey, and
Rowan The rowans ( or ) or mountain-ashes are shrubs or trees in the genus ''Sorbus ''Sorbus'' is a genus of over 100 species of trees and shrubs in the rose family, Rosaceae. Species of ''Sorbus'' (''s.l.'') are commonly known as whitebeam, r ...
. Kim Davis, clerk of Rowan County, cited religious exemptions based on the
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prevents the government from making laws that regulate an establishment of religion, or that prohibit the free exercise of religion, or abridge the freedom of speech, th ...
and Section Five of the Kentucky Constitution in her non-issuance of same-sex marriage licenses. In an attempt to mitigate the issue, Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin signed SB-216 into law on April 13, 2016, which replaced the previously separate marriage license forms for opposite-sex and same-sex couples with one form that has an option for gender neutral language. On June 22, 2016, the director of the Kentucky Fairness Campaign, Chris Hartmann, stated that "there are no counties where marriage licenses are being denied" in Kentucky.


U.S. Territories

Guam had been issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples prior to ''Obergefell;'' the territory was already fully compliant with the ruling. The governor of Puerto Rico announced on June 26, 2015, that the territory would comply with the ruling in ''Obergefell'' and same-sex marriage would begin in Puerto Rico within fifteen days. Although same-sex couples began marrying in the territory on July 17, the court battle would continue until April 11, 2016. On June 29 and June 30, 2015, the governors of the Northern Mariana Islands and the
U.S. Virgin Islands The United States Virgin Islands,. Also called the ''American Virgin Islands'' and the ''U.S. Virgin Islands''. officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and an unincorporated and organized territory ...
, respectively, announced that their territories would comply with ''Obergefell''. However, it is unclear as to how and if ''Obergefell'' would apply to American Samoa, because residents born in the territory are U.S. nationals, rather than U.S. citizens like in the other four populated U.S territories. On July 9, 2015, then-attorney general for American Samoa,
Talauega Eleasalo Ale Eleasalo Va'alele "Salo" Ale is an American Samoan attorney serving as the 10th lieutenant governor of American Samoa. He previously served as Attorney General of American Samoa from 2014 to 2020. On January 13, 2020, Ale resigned as attorney gen ...
, stated that his office was "still reviewing the decision to determine its 'Obergefell's''applicability to American Samoa." Further, the district court judge for American Samoa, Fiti Alexander Sunia, stated in his January 2016 Senate confirmation hearing that he "will not perform weddings for same-sex couples unless local laws are changed." The legality of these statements by former and current territorial government officials remains to be addressed due to lack of litigation, and so the legal status of same-sex marriage in American Samoa remains uncertain.


Indian Reservations

The Court's decision did not legalize same-sex marriage on
Indian reservation An Indian reservation is an area of land held and governed by a federally recognized Native American tribal nation whose government is accountable to the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs and not to the state government in which it ...
s. In the U.S., the Congress, not the federal courts, has legal authority over tribal reservations. Thus, unless Congress passes a law regarding same-sex marriage that is applicable to tribal governments, federally recognized American Indian tribes have the legal right to form their own marriage laws, and to reject those of the U.S. As such, the individual laws of the various
federally recognized Native American tribes This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes were legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United States. ...
can set limits on same-sex marriage under their jurisdictions. At least twelve reservations specifically prohibit same-sex marriage and do not recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions, and two others may ban it; these reservations remain the only parts of the Contiguous United States to enforce explicit bans on same-sex couples marrying.


Subsequent cases


''Pavan v. Smith''

In ''
Pavan v. Smith The Supreme Court of the United States handed down nine ''per curiam'' opinions during its 2016 term, which began October 3, 2016 and concluded October 1, 2017. Because ''per curiam'' decisions are issued from the Court as an institution, these o ...
'', the Supreme Court reaffirmed ''Obergefell'' and ruled that states may not treat married same-sex couples differently from married opposite-sex couples in issuing birth certificates. In ''Obergefell'', birth certificates were listed among the "governmental rights, benefits, and responsibilities" that typically accompany marriage. Quoting ''Obergefell'', the Court reaffirmed that "the Constitution entitles same-sex couples to civil marriage 'on the same terms and conditions as opposite-sex couples'."


''Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization''

In ''
Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ''Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization'', , is a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the court held that the Constitution of the United States does not confer a right to abortion. The court's decision overruled both ''R ...
'', the majority opinion overruled ''
Roe v. Wade ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and st ...
'', and held that the right to privacy does not extend to that of abortion on the criteria from ''Washington v. Glucksberg'' that a right must be "deeply rooted in the Nation's history", and abortion was considered a crime, a view that some historians argued is incomplete. For the majority, Justice Samuel Alito responded to the dissenting's concerns, saying that the ruling would not affect other substantive due process cases. In his concurring opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas, a dissenter in ''Obergefell'', urged the court to revisit this case, since ''Dobbs'' overruled the fundamental right to privacy as
unenumerated right Unenumerated rights are legal rights inferred from other rights that are implied by existing laws, such as in written constitutions, but are not themselves expressly coded or "enumerated" within the explicit writ of the law. Alternative terminolo ...
implied in ''Roe'' and cast doubt over substantive due process. The dissenting opinion, which criticized the majority for rejecting ''
stare decisis A precedent is a principle or rule established in a previous legal case that is either binding on or persuasive for a court or other tribunal when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts. Common-law legal systems place great valu ...
'' and overruling precedents dating back to ''Griswold v. Connecticut'', responded, "Either the majority does not really believe in its own reasoning. Or if it does, all rights that have no history stretching back to the mid-19th century are insecure. Either the mass of the majority's opinion is hypocrisy, or additional constitutional rights are under threat. It is one or the other."''Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization'', No. 19–1392
slip op.
at 5 (U.S. June 24, 2022) (Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan, JJ., dissenting).


See also

* List of LGBT-related cases in the United States Supreme Court * '' Goodridge v. Department of Public Health'' (2003), the court case that legalized
same-sex marriage in Massachusetts Same-sex marriage in Massachusetts has been legally recognized since May 17, 2004, as a result of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) ruling in ''Goodridge v. Department of Public Health'' that it was unconstitutional under the Massa ...
(first state to do so in the U.S.) * List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 576 * Public opinion of same-sex marriage in the United States * Respect for Marriage Act (2022), which formally codified the requirement that individual states (and the federal government) must recognize another state's legal marriage *
Timeline of same-sex marriage in the United States This article contains a timeline of significant events regarding same-sex marriage in the United States. On June 26, 2015, the landmark US Supreme Court decision in ''Obergefell v. Hodges'' effectively ended restrictions on same-sex marriage in ...


References


Notes


Further reading

* Cathcart, Kevin M., and Leslie J. Gabel-Brett, eds. ''Love Unites Us: Winning the Freedom to Marry in America''. New York: New Press, 2016. . * Cenziper, Debbie, and Jim Obergefell. ''Love Wins: The Lovers and Lawyers Who Fought the Landmark Case for Marriage Equality''. New York: William Morrow, 2016. . * Frank, Nathaniel. ''Awakening: How Gays and Lesbians Brought Marriage Equality to America''. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2017. . * Leslie, Christopher R
"Dissenting from History: The False Narratives of the ''Obergefell'' Dissents."
''Indiana Law Journal'' 92, no. 3 (2017): 1007–57. * Tribe, Laurence H. "Equal Dignity: Speaking Its Name." ''Harvard Law Review Forum'' 129, no. 1 (2015): 16–32. * Yoshino, Kenji. "A New Birth of Freedom?: ''Obergefell v. Hodges''." ''Harvard Law Review'' 129, no. 1 (2015): 147–79.


External links


U.S. Supreme Court opinion
in ''Obergefell v. Hodges'' (June 26, 2015)

for ''Obergefell v. Hodges''
SCOTUSblog official docket entry
for ''Obergefell v. Hodges''
U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments
in ''Obergefell v. Hodges'' (April 28, 2015): Question 1 (audio and transcript)
U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments
in ''Obergefell v. Hodges'' (April 28, 2015): Question 2 (audio and transcript)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit opinion
in ''Obergefell v. Hodges'', then known as ''DeBoer v. Snyder'', No. 14-1341 (6th Cir. Nov. 6, 2014) * U.S. District Courts: Most relevant actions (dates refer to indicated actions) *
Final Order Granting Plaintiffs' Motion for Declaratory Judgment and Permanent Injunction
in ''Obergefell v. Wymyslo'', No. 1:13-cv-501 (S.D. Ohio Dec. 23, 2013) *
Memorandum Opinion
in ''Bourke v. Beshear'', No. 3:13-CV-750-H (W.D. Ky. Feb. 12, 2014) *
Memorandum
in ''Tanco v. Haslam'', No. 3:13-cv-01159 (M.D. Tenn. Mar. 14, 2014) *
Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law
in ''DeBoer v. Snyder'', No. 12-CV-10285 (E.D. Mich. Mar. 21, 2014) *
Order Granting Plaintiffs' Motion for Declaratory Judgment and Permanent Injunction
in ''Henry v. Himes'', No. 1:14-cv-129 (S.D. Ohio Apr. 14, 2014) *
Memorandum Opinion and Order
in ''Love v. Beshear'', No. 3:13-CV-750-H (W.D. Ky. July 1, 2014) * Plaintiff pictures: ** Feature provides images of all plaintiffs, except John Arthur, Adoption S.T.A.R., Joy Espejo, Matthew Mansell, Kellie Miller, and Vanessa DeVillez. See, also, reference 45. ** Article provides pics of James Obergefell and husband John Arthur. See, also, references 14 and 15. ** Article provides pics of Joy Espejo, Matthew Mansell, Kellie Miller, and Vanessa DeVillez. *
Plaintiff Adoption S.T.A.R.'s homepage
* Includes reactions to multiple Supreme Court cases, including ''Obergefell''. * {{US14thAmendment 2010s in LGBT history 2014 in Ohio 2014 in United States case law 2015 in LGBT history 2015 in United States case law American Civil Liberties Union litigation Discrimination against LGBT people in the United States LGBT in Ohio Ohio law Same-sex marriage law in the United States United States due process case law United States equal protection case law United States LGBT rights case law United States same-sex union case law United States Supreme Court cases of the Roberts Court United States Supreme Court decisions that overrule a prior Supreme Court decision United States Supreme Court cases