Supreme Court Cases: Obergefell Vs. Hodges

Amanda Stevenson

Dr. Woodiwiss

PO 101

30 November 2015

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On June 26, 2015, the United States Supreme Court ruled any state ban against gay marriage unconstitutional with the case of Obergefell v. Hodges. Ruling in favor of Obergefell, the court’s decision shook what was thought to be the “stable ground” of the United States. Stemming from similar cases presented in Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, and Tennessee, Obergefell v. Hodges illuminated two objective questions: “Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex?” and “Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex that was legally licensed and performed

Dissimilar from the financial influence of the legislative “purse” and the authoritative, executive “sword”, the Supreme Court derives its stature from public opinion and the acceptance of its rulings. This passivity results from the fact that the Supreme Court only acts when questions need to be answered, which is exercising the power of judicial review. The Supreme Court can only answer those questions posed by the public concerning the constitutionality of a law by expressing what is called the “opinion of the court” (Hamilton). The answer, or decision made by the court is not always black or white. As an example, the Obergefell v. Hodges case not only serves as a demonstration of how the Supreme Court works, but also potential consequences to misinterpreted judicial

President Bill Clinton signed a federal DOMA in the following year, which permitted states the right to ban same sex marriage and also prohibited the federal government from officially recognizing any same sex marriage. Although both of these signings prohibited gay marriage, they were actually counterproductive, because they made the issue more public, making them major steps in achieving marriage equality. As of 1995, thirteen states had official statutory bans on any homosexual marriage. That is a small number compared to the thirty seven that were indifferent to the topic at that time. According to the Pew Research Center, Massachusetts become the first state to legalize marriage in 2003. This decision of Massachusetts also initiated a shift in the nation with the introduction of the Federal Marriage Amendment to the United States House of representatives. Massachusetts remained the only state legally allowing gay marriage for five years, until Connecticut joined in 2008. Discounting indifference as a decision, all fifty states of the United States had not taken an active stance on gay marriage until 2013. At this time, seventeen states had legalized gay marriage, four states had statutory bans on gay marriage, and twenty-nine states had constitutional bans on gay marriage. Obergefell v. Hodges finalized in June of 2015, which forced the then withstanding fifteen states to enact