Eleanor Finch
The topic of gay marriage has been a contentious issue in the United States for decades, with opponents working to prevent its legalisation by attempting to amend the Constitution. Despite these efforts, same-sex marriage was legalised at the federal level in 2015 following the Supreme Court's ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, which determined that the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees the fundamental right to marry for same-sex couples. This ruling marked a significant shift in public sentiment and policy, with President Biden signing the Respect for Marriage Act into law in 2022, repealing the Defense of Marriage Act and enshrining protections for same-sex marriage in federal law. While this legislation represents a major victory for LGBTQ+ rights, the fight for equality continues, with ongoing debates and acts of violence and hate impacting the community.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of Supreme Court ruling | June 26, 2015 |
| Supreme Court case | Obergefell v. Hodges |
| Amendment | Fourteenth Amendment |
| Number of justices in favor | 5 |
| Number of justices against | 4 |
| President at the time | Barack Obama |
| Year Defense of Marriage Act was passed | 1996 |
| Year Respect for Marriage Act was passed | 2022 |
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What You'll Learn
The Fourteenth Amendment
The road to achieving marriage equality for same-sex couples in the United States was long and arduous. For decades, advocates worked tirelessly to change hearts and minds, sharing stories of couples and families impacted by discriminatory laws that denied them equal recognition. During this time, some states began to recognize same-sex marriages, either through court rulings or legislative action, while others actively worked to prevent such recognition.
The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), passed in 1996, defined marriage at the federal level as a union between a man and a woman, allowing states to deny marriage equality to same-sex couples. This act, along with other state-level efforts to restrict marriage definitions, created significant barriers for same-sex couples seeking legal recognition of their relationships.
However, a turning point came in 2013 when the Supreme Court decided to hear arguments on same-sex marriage, energizing coalitions and advocacy groups across the country. This led to the historic Obergefell v. Hodges ruling in 2015, where the Court interpreted the Fourteenth Amendment as protecting the fundamental right to marry for same-sex couples and requiring states to license and recognize these marriages.
The ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges had a profound impact, establishing same-sex marriage as the law of the land across all fifty states. The Court's decision was not without dissent, but it marked a significant step forward in recognizing the equal rights and liberties of LGBTQ+ individuals and couples under the Fourteenth Amendment. This decision sent a powerful message that personal liberty and freedom from discriminatory laws are fundamental principles protected by the United States Constitution.
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The Equal Protection Clause
The Fourteenth Amendment, which includes the Equal Protection Clause, was invoked in the landmark Supreme Court case Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015. The Court ruled that this amendment guarantees a fundamental right to marry for same-sex couples and that states must allow and recognize these marriages. This decision marked a significant shift in legal and social recognition of same-sex relationships, ensuring that they are afforded the same rights and protections as heterosexual marriages.
Prior to the Obergefell ruling, there was a mix of state-level policies regarding same-sex marriage, with some states recognizing it while others had constitutional amendments limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples. The Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges resolved this jurisdictional split, ensuring that same-sex couples could exercise their right to marry regardless of their state of residence.
The NAACP, a prominent civil rights organization, also cited the Equal Protection Clause in its support for gay marriage, stating that marriage equality is consistent with the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of equal protection under the law. This interpretation highlights how the Equal Protection Clause has been instrumental in advancing LGBT rights and ensuring that sexual orientation is included within the scope of protected characteristics.
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The Respect for Marriage Act
The RFMA replaces provisions that define marriage as between a man and a woman for purposes of federal law, with provisions that recognize any marriage between two individuals that is valid under state law. It also prohibits the denial of full faith and credit for out-of-state marriages on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin. The Act ensures that the right to same-sex and interracial marriages remains part of federal statute law, even if future Court rulings determine that they are not constitutionally guaranteed.
The passage of the Respect for Marriage Act would be a significant step towards protecting the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals and ensuring that all marriages are legally recognized and protected, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, or national origin.
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The Defense of Marriage Act
DOMA prohibited the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages that were valid under state law. It defined marriage as "only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife", and the word "spouse" as referring only to "a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife". This meant that same-sex couples were denied many benefits and recognition that opposite-sex couples enjoyed, including over 1,000 federal protections and privileges such as access to a spouse's employment benefits, the right to cohabit in college or military housing, and the right to take medical leave to care for partners or non-biological children.
Supporters of DOMA believed that opposite-sex marriage was the only appropriate method for family formation and procreation. They argued that same-sex marriage could lead to alternative family formations and could even result in incestuous relationships and polygamous marriages. On the other hand, opponents of DOMA claimed that the Act's definition of marriage was discriminatory on the basis of sex and equated homosexuality with incest and polygamy.
In 2013, in United States v. Windsor, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down DOMA's definition of marriage as unconstitutional "as a deprivation of the equal liberty of persons" under the Fifth Amendment. The Court also found that the law sought to injure gay Americans as a class, violating due process. Following this ruling, many court cases successfully challenged state bans on same-sex marriage, arguing that these bans violated the equal rights and due process of LGBTQ Americans.
In 2015, in Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court struck down the section of DOMA that allowed individual states to not recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states. This decision, along with the Court's determination that the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees a fundamental right to marry for same-sex couples, effectively legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.
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Supreme Court rulings
In 2015, the Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the US Constitution. The ruling requires all 50 states, 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 equal rights and responsibilities.
Obergefell v. Hodges was a landmark decision that culminated in several marriage cases filed in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee between January 2012 and February 2014. The Supreme Court's ruling came in consideration of several combined marriage cases. For example, Kentucky petitioners Timothy Love and Lawrence Ysunza, and Maurice Blanchard and Dominique James were represented by the ACLU and the Stanford Law School Supreme Court Litigation Clinic. GLAD was co-counsel in DeBoer v. Snyder, along with Michigan attorneys Carole Stanyar, Dana Nessel, Kenneth Mogill, and Wayne State University Law Professor Robert Sedler.
The Supreme Court's ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges overturned the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals' decision, which had upheld bans on marriage for same-sex couples in Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee. The Sixth Circuit Court's ruling had reversed a U.S. District Court Judge's earlier decision that Michigan's laws prohibiting same-sex couples from marrying were unconstitutional. The Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges established same-sex marriage throughout the United States and its territories.
Justice Anthony Kennedy authored the majority opinion in the Obergefell v. Hodges case. In his opinion, Kennedy acknowledged that same-sex marriage is a relatively new concept but said that basic Constitutional notions of freedom mean "same-sex couples may exercise the right to marry." Kennedy wrote that marriage is a "keystone of our social order" and "inherent in the concept of individual autonomy." He also noted that marriage provides a "constellation of benefits" that states should not deny their citizens simply because of their sexual orientation. Kennedy's decision was joined by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan, and Sonia Sotomayor.
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Frequently asked questions
The Fourteenth Amendment of the US Constitution guarantees a fundamental right to marry for same-sex couples.
The Obergefell v. Hodges case was heard by the Supreme Court in 2015, which ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment requires states to allow and recognize same-sex marriages.
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Windsor, finding that Section 3 of DOMA was unconstitutional "as a deprivation of the equal liberty of persons" under the Fifth Amendment.
The Respect for Marriage Act repeals the Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibited the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages that were valid under state law.
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