On June 26, 2015 the Supreme Court ruled on the case of Obergefell v Hodges. The case, which was originally filed on July 19, 2013, involved many same sex couples who sued their respective states in order to legalize same sex marriage. At the time of the suits, Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee defined marriage as the union of a man and a woman. James Obergefell and John Arthur James had gone to Maryland and gotten married legally, but when they returned, their home states refused to recognize the marriages on death certificates. Mr. James had a terminally illness and died shortly after the process had begun. His widow could not even be recognized as his husband on the death certificate. He could not receive compensation from the life
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Justice Kennedy held that the Due Process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees marriage as a fundamental right for everyone. The dissenting opinion was delivered by Chief Justice Roberts, in which stated that although same sex marriage may be a fair and good policy, but the Constitution does not address the issue and because of that, it is not the court’s place to decide upon the issue. This decision was monumental for the LGBTQ community and has been celebrated since. Couples that have been together for years were finally legally married, which is true of many people throughout the country. This basic right was finally able to be given to those in the LGBTQ …show more content…
The act also defined marriage under federal law as a union only between a man and woman (ballotpedia.org). This was done in an attempt to “defend marriage”congress.gov). But what were they defending it from? Gays and lesbians? This law was blatant discrimination against homosexuals and should have never been written let alone passed through Congress. Saying that one marriage is “less worthy” than other marriages just because of the gender(s) that are involved is a disgrace and should have been illegal from the beginning. Two polls on ballotpedia.org state that the majority of those polled, in these two 2015 studies, either favored or strongly favored the legalization of same sex marriage. The article also states that at least a third of Americans had changed their standpoint on this subject throughout their lives. Ultimately, I believe this shows that the public can be and is progressive and is right to legalize same sex
Justice Kennedy held that the Due Process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees marriage as a fundamental right for everyone. The dissenting opinion was delivered by Chief Justice Roberts, in which stated that although same sex marriage may be a fair and good policy, but the Constitution does not address the issue and because of that, it is not the court’s place to decide upon the issue. This decision was monumental for the LGBTQ community and has been celebrated since. Couples that have been together for years were finally legally married, which is true of many people throughout the country. This basic right was finally able to be given to those in the LGBTQ …show more content…
The act also defined marriage under federal law as a union only between a man and woman (ballotpedia.org). This was done in an attempt to “defend marriage”congress.gov). But what were they defending it from? Gays and lesbians? This law was blatant discrimination against homosexuals and should have never been written let alone passed through Congress. Saying that one marriage is “less worthy” than other marriages just because of the gender(s) that are involved is a disgrace and should have been illegal from the beginning. Two polls on ballotpedia.org state that the majority of those polled, in these two 2015 studies, either favored or strongly favored the legalization of same sex marriage. The article also states that at least a third of Americans had changed their standpoint on this subject throughout their lives. Ultimately, I believe this shows that the public can be and is progressive and is right to legalize same sex