Obergefell v. Hodges
Issue(s): Gay Marriage, Equal Protection, Due Process
Background:
- For twenty-two years, Petitioner James Obergefell and his late partner, John Arthur, lived together in a committed relationship in Cincinnati, Ohio until Arthur’s passing on October 22, 2013. On July 11, 2013, after John Arthur was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (“ALS”)—a fatal and incurable disease that caused Arthur significant muscle deterioration—the couple traveled to Anne Arundel County, Maryland on a special jet equipped with medical devices that catered to Arthur’s medical condition. Obergefell and Arthur married inside of the jet as it was parked on a Maryland tarmac. That same day, the newly married couple returned to Cincinnati, Ohio. In 2013, Obergefell and Arthur’s same-sex marriage was legally recognized in Maryland and by the federal government as confirmed by the United States Supreme Court in United States v. Windsor. However, Ohio state laws—Ohio Rev. Code § 3101.01 (C)(2), Ohio Rev. Code § 3101.01 (C)(3), and Ohio Constitution Art. XV, § 11—forbids same-sex marriage. Following Arthur’s passing, and in accordance with Ohio law, Arthur’s death record (1) failed to record Obergefell as Arthur’s “surviving spouse” and (2) listed Arthur as “unmarried” at the time of his death.
- In 2013, Obergefell filed suit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio (“district court”) against Respondent Richard Hodges, Director of the Ohio Department of Health. Obergefell argued that Ohio laws that failed to recognize out-of-state same-sex marriages were unconstitutional and asked that the Registrar of Ohio issue death certificates recording Obergefell as Arthur’s “surviving spouse” and listing John Arthur as “married” at the time of death. The district court ruled in favor of Obergefell, granting Obergefell’s motion for a temporary restraining order and ordering that the local Ohio Registrar of death certificates reject a death certificate for Arthur that fails to record Arthur’s marital status as “married” and list Obergefell as his “surviving spouse” at the time of death. The district court reasoned that the Fourteenth Amendment protects a “fundamental right to keep existing marital relationships intact” and that Ohio failed to satisfactorily justify its refusal to recognize same-sex marriage under both a heightened intermediate scrutiny review and a less rigorous rational basis review.
- On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed the district court ruling, holding that a state’s decision to restrict marriage to a man and a woman does not violate a same-sex couple’s constitutional rights and that a state’s refusal to recognize a same-sex marriage performed out-of-state does not violate Fourteenth Amendment due process and equal protection rights.
- On January 16, 2015, the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari—consolidating this case with Tanco v. Haslam, DeBoer v. Snyder, and Bourke v. Beshear—to determine whether the Fourteenth Amendment requires a state to (1) recognize lawfully licensed same-sex marriages performed out-of-state and (2) grant same-sex marriage licenses.
- In a 5-4 majority, the Court held that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees the right to marry as one of the fundamental liberties it protects, and that analysis applies to same-sex couples in the same manner as it does to opposite-sex couples. Judicial precedent has held that the right to marry is a fundamental liberty because it is inherent to the concept of individual autonomy, it protects the most intimate association between two people, it safeguards children and families by according legal recognition to building a home and raising children, and it has historically been recognized as the keystone of social order. Because there are no differences between a same-sex union and an opposite-sex union with respect to these principles, the exclusion of same-sex couples from the right to marry violates the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment also guarantees the right of same-sex couples to marry as the denial of that right would deny same-sex couples equal protection under the law. Marriage rights have traditionally been addressed through both parts of the Fourteenth Amendment, and the same interrelated principles of liberty and equality apply with equal force to these cases; therefore, the Constitution protects the fundamental right of same-sex couples to marry. The Court also held that the First Amendment protects the rights of religious organizations to adhere to their principles, but it does not allow states to deny same-sex couples the right to marry on the same terms as those for opposite-sex couples.
576 U.S. 644
Obergefell v. Hodges. (2015, April 28). Retrieved July 14, 2015, from Cornell University Law School.
Obergefell v. Hodges. (2015, April 28). Retrieved July 14, 2015, from http://www.oyez.org/cases/2010-2019/2014/2014_14_556
Obergefell v. Hodges. (2015, April 28). Retrieved July 14, 2015, from Cornell University Law School.
Obergefell v. Hodges. (2015, April 28). Retrieved July 14, 2015, from http://www.oyez.org/cases/2010-2019/2014/2014_14_556