Gay Marriage Is An Issue That Surrounds The Case Of Obergefell V.

Same-sex marriage is a controversial topic that surrounds the case of Obergefell v Hodges. Generally, liberals believe that marriage is the union between two people who love each other, regardless of their gender and sexual orientation. Liberals support same-sex marriage and believe that everyone should have the right to marry; forbidding people this right violates their civil rights. On the other hand, conservatives strongly believe that marriage is the union between a man and a woman. Conservatives protest against same-sex marriage because they reason that forcing people to recognize same-sex marriages violates the morals and religions of a large population of people who believe that marriage is the union of a man and a woman. Prior

The issue of the case, Obergefell v. Hodges, was based on the question of whether or not the Fourteenth Amendment required a state to recognize and license same-sex marriages. Was the right to gay marriage not protected under the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment? Many petitioners in similar scenarios all played a role to fight for equal rights concerning gay marriage.

First, in 2013, James Obergefell and his partner, John Arthur, lived in Ohio, one of the states that did not sanction same-sex marriage. After Arthur was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a fatal, progressive, neurodegenerative disease, the couple decided to get married in Maryland, where same-sex marriage was legal. After Arthur died, the state of Ohio neglected to recognize Obergefell as Arthur’s surviving spouse on his death certificate. Distraught, Obergefell sued the state of Ohio to have his name included on Arthur’s death certificate, where same-sex marriages were still

The Supreme Court held that the Due Process Clause of the fourteenth amendment guarantees the right to marry as one of the fundamental liberties it protects, no matter if it involves two people of the same sex or a man and a woman. The right to marry is a fundamental liberty inherent to autonomy. There is no union more profound than marriage, for it supports the most intimate association between two people. This principle was fundamental in Griswold v. Connecticut, which held “the constitution protects the right of married couples to use contraception.” Next, the right to marry secures children and families through legal recognition to building a home and raising children. Children may grow up thinking with a stigma that their family is inferior if they do not have the right to marry, compared to other families who do. Lastly, marriage is historically a keystone of social order. Since there are no differences between same-sex marriages and opposite-sex marriages in relations to these principles, banning 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 protects the right of same-sex couples to marry; prohibiting this right to same-sex couples would deny them equal protection under the