THE SUPREME COURT AND THE LEGALIZATION OF SAME-SEX MARRIAGE IN THE UNITED STATES

Same-sex marriage has been legal in the United States since June 26, 2015, when the Supreme Court
ruled that same-sex couples are entitled to the same rights and responsibilities as heterosexual
couples under the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the
United States Constitution.
The ruling came as a result of Obergefell v. Hodges, which ended all inter-state legal complications
surrounding same-sex marriage by ordering states to both perform marriages for same-sex couples
and to recognize marriages performed in other states.

I. The Obergefell v. Hodges case: from federal judgment to the Supreme Court
A. The basis of the Obergefell v. Hodges case
In the United States of America, only a few states had legalized same-sex marriage since 2004. In
fact, marriage was determined by state law and not federal law in a way that states were free to
determine their legislation in regard of this topic.
In 2013 the two men, Jim Obergefell, and James Arthur, decided to get married but since Ohio did
not recognize same-sex marriage, they chose Maryland as the state to get legally married in.
Three months after the happy event, Arthur died from his illness. His husband filed an injunction so
that he could appear as a spouse on his husband's death certificate but since Ohio didn’t recognize
their marriage for any purpose at all, he was impossible to do so for him.
So, he sued the state of Ohio arguing that Ohio discriminated against same-sex couples who had
married legally outside of the state. A federal judge ruled in Obergefell’s favour.
The state of Ohio appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. As it turns out, several
others were suing their states for the same reason. On November 6, 2014, the Sixth Circuit ruled in
favour of the states with the laws banning same-sex marriage. Jim and all the others challenging the
state same-sex marriage bans appealed to the Supreme Court.

B. The case in front of the Supreme Court

The Court agreed to hear four of the same-sex marriage cases that directly challenged state laws
banning same-sex marriage. In total the four consolidated cases represented 14 same-sex couples
and two men who same-sex partners had died.
All of those challenging the same-sex marriage bans argued such bans went against the Equal
Protection Clause and Due Process Clause of the 14th amendment. One group even brought claims
under the Civil Rights Act.
The Court heard oral arguments on April 28, 2015. During arguments, the justices considered two big
questions. Firstly, does the 14th Amendment mandate that a state give a marriage license to two
people of the same sex? Secondly, does the 14th Amendment mandate that a state recognize a
marriage of two people of the same sex who were legally married in another state?
On June 26, 2015, the Court announced a 5-4 decision in favour of the claimants. The Court argued
that the 14th Amendment required all states to recognize all same-sex marriages. The Court held
that marriage is a fundamental right to same-sex couples, as protected by the Due Process Clause
and Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
.
II. The Obergefell v. Hodges case: the aftermath
A. The explanation and the impact of the ruling
In that case, the Court decided that part of the Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional. This
meant that same-sex married couples could have federal benefits as long as they were married in
states where same-sex marriages were legal. The majority, in responding criticisms on their ruling,
also wrote that just as society's understanding of marriage has evolved over time and that the
definition must evolve again to acknowledge this newly understood freedom.
The Supreme Court to decide to uphold the right to marry as fundamental on four grounds. The first
being that marriage is fundamental to individual autonomy, same-sex couples have the same right to
the union and intimacy of marriage as opposite-sex couples. In addition, the Court determined that
marriage institution centres the protection of the family and children permitting same-sex couples to
marry remove some of the stigma and material cause suffered by children of unmarried parents.
Finally the court decided that marriage is central to societal structure in the US and that same-sex
couples must be allowed to access the benefits of the institution.
Four of the justices dissented in this case, most of whom argued that in legalizing same-sex marriage
the court was going beyond its constitutional duties and acting as a legislative body and therefore,
threatening American democracy.
However, on June 26th, 2015, same-sex marriage was legalized in all 50 states in the territories of the
US. Between the time of the court's decision in 2018 293 000 same-sex couples had married more
than doubling the number of such partnerships in the United States legally those couples became
eligible for state and federal benefits tied to marriage that previously had only been open to opposite
sex couples including but not limited to the right to be listed on a birth certificate and the right to
adopt across most of the United States. But in some states and counties since the ruling same-sex
couples have still faced challenges in obtaining a marriage license and continue to be treated in a
discriminatory manner by some business owners.

B. The reinforcement of the case ruling

As a Common Law country, the United States of America use the doctrine of biding precedent and
therefore case law as the main source of their law. Therefore, the case Obergefell is the source of
legal basis for the legalisation of same-sex marriage and same-sex unions therefore have been
guaranteed by the Supreme Court since 2015. But after the overturning of decision Roe v. Wade
protecting the right of abortion in June this year, many people including LGBTQIA+ activists and
politics feared that it will happen the same for the same-sex marriage.
Therefore, the democrats have worked to get the bill passed while they still control Congress. The
goal of this bill is not to force every state to legalize gay marriage. It is about forcing a state that may
ban same-sex marriage, if the case is overturned, to still have the obligation of recognizing such
unions.
The Supreme Court has enacted the possibility for same-sex marriage but it is the legislative body
that will reinforce it in case of overturning.

Bibliography
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Author : Michael S. Rosenwald
Source : The Washington Post
Date : April 6, 2015
Link : https ://www.washingtonpost.com/local/how-jim-obergefell-became-the-face-of-the-supreme-
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Title : Between the Lines of the Defense of Marriage Act Opinion

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Title: US Senate passes bill protecting same-sex marriage

Author: Martin Pengelly
Source : The Guardian
Date : November, 30 2022
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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/nov/29/us-same-sex-marriage-law-senate-passes
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Author: AFP
Source: France 24
Date: November 30 2022
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marriage

Title: Supreme Court to debate whether businesses may decline to provide services to same-sex
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Author: John Fritze
Source: USA Today
Date: Not mentioned
Link:https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/12/03/supreme-court-arguments-
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Title: US: Supreme Court Upholds Same-Sex Marriage

Author: Not mentioned
Source: Human Rights Watch
Date: June, 26 2015
Link: https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/06/26/us-supreme-court-upholds-same-sex-marriage

Title: Same sex marriage in the United States

Author: collaborative page
Source: Wikipedia
Date: accessed on December 3 2022
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-sex_marriage_in_the_United_States