Obergefell V. Hodges: A Landmark Supreme Court Case

Obergefell v. Hodges was a landmark Supreme Court case that took place in 2015. This case legalized same sex marriage across the United States. It is a significant moment for the LGBTQIA+ rights as well as equality movement. The case has challenged state bans on same-sex marriage, where they have argued that they violated the Fourteenth Amendment which grants citizenship and equal civil and legal rights. Before the case took place “over 70% of states and the District of Columbia already recognized same-sex marriage, and only 13 states had bans” (HUSL Library: A Brief History of Civil Rights in the United States: Obergefell V. Hodges). In the end, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of marriage equality. They stated that same-sex couples have the

The case began when several same-sex couples filed lawsuits from Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. They challenged the constitutionality of state bands on same-sex marriage. These lawsuits went through the federal district court and then the circuit courts along with appeals. They eventually made it to the Sixth Circuit, where it upheld the state bans. In the end, DeBoer v. Snyder, one of the several cases ended in a 2–1 decision, ruled Ohio's ban on same-sex marriage did not violate the U.S. Constitution. One of the judges, Judge Sutton dismissed arguments for same-sex couples, stating the issue was not constitutionalized and should remain in state voters' hands. The split in the rulings eventually made it more likely that the Supreme Court would take up the case. In the Obergefell v. Hodges case, the legal arguments presented to the Supreme Court were interesting to read. On the proponents of the same-sex marriage argued that the bans on same-sex marriage violated the Fourteenth

Hodges”). They emphasized that denying same-sex couples the right to marry was a form of discrimination. The opponents argued that the definition of marriage as between one man and one woman was rooted in tradition and that it should be upheld. They also believe that the power should be left to the states to decide and that the Constitution doesn’t recognize same-sex marriage. At the end of the case Obergefell v. Hodges on June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States held in a 5-4 decision that the 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” (“Obergefell V. Hodges”). The majority decision was signed by Justices Breyer, Ginsburg, Kagan, and Sotomayor. Justices Roberts, Scalia, Thomas, and Alito dissented. The dissenters included Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Scalia and