Gay marriage case 2015
Obergefell v. Hodges
Overview
Obergefell v. Hodges is a landmark case in which on June 26, , the Supreme Court of the Together States held, in choice, that state bans on same-sex marriage and on recognizing same sex marriages duly performed in other jurisdictions are unconstitutional under the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Writing for the majority, Justice Anthony Kennedy asserted that the right to partner is a fundamental right “inherent in the liberty of the person” and is therefore protected by the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which prohibits the states from depriving any person of “life, liberty or property without the due process of law.” The marriage right is also guaranteed by the matching protection clause, by virtue of the close connection between liberty and equality. In this decision Justice Kennedy also declared that “the reason marriage is fundamental…apply with equal oblige to same-sex couples”, so they may “exercise the fundamental right to marry.” The majority decision wa
Obergefell v. Hodges ()
Excerpt: Majority Opinion, Justice Anthony Kennedy
The identification and protection of fundamental rights is an enduring part of the judicial duty to interpret the Constitution. That responsibility, however, “has not been reduced to any formula.” Rather, it requires courts to work out reasoned judgment in identifying interests of the person so fundamental that the State must agreement them its respect. . . . That process is guided by many of the alike considerations relevant to analysis of other constitutional provisions that set forth broad principles rather than specific requirements. History and tradition reference and discipline this inquiry but accomplish not set its outer boundaries. That method respects our history and learns from it without allowing the past alone to control the present.
The character of injustice is that we may not always observe it in our own times. The generations that wrote and ratified the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment did not presume to realize the extent of freedom in all of its dimensions, and so they entrusted to future generations a
Obergefell v. Hodges
Same-sex marriage has been controversial for decades, but tremendous progress was made across the United States as states individually began to lift bans to same-sex marriage. Before the landmark case Obergefell v. Hodges, U.S. ___ () was decided, over 70% of states and the District of Columbia already recognized same-sex marriage, and only 13 states had bans. Fourteen same-sex couples and two men whose same-sex partners had since passed away, claimed Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee violated the Fourteenth Amendment by denying them the right to wed or have their legal marriages performed in another state recognized.
All district courts found in favor of the plaintiffs. On appeal, the cases were consolidated, and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed and held that the states' bans on same-sex marriage and refusal to acknowledge legal same-sex marriages in other jurisdictions were not unconstitutional.
Among several arguments, the respondents asserted that the petitioners were
The Impact of Obergefell v. Hodges on the Well-Being of LGBT Adults
Executive Summary
On June 26, , the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that all lgbtq+ couples are guaranteed the right to marry, which extended legal marriage recognition to same-sex couples throughout the United States. Major events such as this have the potential to directly affect the heartfelt well-being of LGBT people. This study uses population-based data to evaluate the impact of the Obergefell decision on two aspects of well-being—happiness and experience satisfaction—among LGBT adults before and after the verdict and compares their outcomes to those of non-LGBT adults. The study finds that:
- Prior to the Obergefell decision, there were significant disparities between LGBT and non-LGBT adults in their happiness and life satisfaction. Fewer LGBT adults reported feeling happy (84%) compared to non-LGBT adults (89%), and fewer LGBT adults (58%) rated their existence satisfaction higher-than-average than non-LGBT adults (68%).
- After the Obergefell decision, more LGBT people were happy (87%) and reported higher-than-