Obergefell, et al vs. Hodges SC-USA No. 14-556 Decided: !"e #6, #$15
%AC&S: &'e (etitio"ers are 14 sa)e-se* co!(les a"d t+o )e" +'ose sa)e-se* (art"ers are deceased. &'e res(o"de"ts are state ocials res(o"sible for e"forci"g t'e la+s i" !estio". &'e (etitio"ers clai) t'at res(o"de"ts violate t'e %o!rtee"t' A)e"d)e"t b de"i"g t'e) t'e rig't to )arr or to 'ave t'eir )arriages, la+f!ll (erfor)ed i" a"ot'er State, give" f!ll recog"itio". /ss!e: 01 +'et'er or "ot t'e %o!rtee"t' A)e"d)e"t re!ires a State to lice"se a )arriage bet+ee" t+o (eo(le of t'e sa)e se*2 0# +'et'er t'e fo!rtee"t' a)e"d)e"t re!ires a state to recog"i3e t'e sa)e-se* )arriage lice"sed a"d (erfor)ed i" a state +'ic' does "ot gra"t t'at rig't. !li"g: 01 es. &'e f!"da)e"tal liberties (rotected b t'e %o!rtee"t' A)e"d)e"ts D!e 7rocess Cla!se e*te"d to certai" (erso"al c'oices ce"tral to i"divid!al dig"it a"d a!to"o), i"cl!di"g i"ti)ate c'oices de8"i"g (erso"al ide"tit a"d beliefs. See, e.g., Eisenstadt v. Baird, 4$5 U. S. 49, 4592 Griswold v. Connecticut, 91 U. S. 4;<, 44=46. Co!rts )!st e*ercise reaso"ed >!dg)e"t i" ide"tifi"g i"terests of t'e (erso" so f!"da)e"tal t'at t'e State )!st accord t'e) its res(ect. Histor a"d traditio" g!ide a"d disci(li"e t'e i"!ir b!t do "ot set its o!ter bo!"daries. ?'e" "e+ i"sig't reveals discord bet+ee" t'e Co"stit!tio"s ce"tral (rotectio"s a"d a received legal strict!re, a clai) to liber t )!st be addr essed. &H@ /H& &O BA /S 7O&@C&@D &H@ CONS&/&U&/ON.
Fou r pri nci pl es an dt r adi t i on s dem on sr t atehat t he t reason s m arri age si f undam en t alunder he t C on s t i t ut i onap pl y w i t h equ alf or c e o t sam ese x cou pl es.
1. &'e rig't to (erso"al c'oice regardi"g )arriage is i"'ere"t i" t'e co"ce(t of i"divid!al a!to"o). #. &'e rig't to )arr is f!"da)e"tal beca!se it s!((orts a t+o-(erso" !"io" !"lie a" ot'er i" its i)(orta"ce to t'e co))itted i"divid!als. 9. &'e rig't to )arr is t'at it safeg!ards c'ildre" a"d fa)ilies a"d t'!s dra+s )ea"i"g fro) related rig'ts of c'ildreari"g, (rocreatio", a"d ed!catio". 4. Barriage is a esto"e of t'e "atio"s social order.
The ri gh t ofsam ese x cou pl es ot m arry s i al so deri ved f r om t he F ou rt een t h Ame ndme nt ’ sguar ant e eo fe qualpr o t e c t i o n.TheDuePr o c e s sCl aus eandt he Equ alPro t ect i onCl au se are on nect cedi n a p rof ou nd way. Ri gh t s mp il i ci ti n l i bert y an d ri gh t s sec ured byequ alpro t ect i onmayres t ondi fferent rec epts p and areot nal ways coext en si ve, yet ea c h maybei nst ru ci t ve s ao t h t e
mean i ng an d re ach oft he ot her .I ndeed, re c ogn i zi ng t hat ew n i nsi gh t s an d soci et al under - st andi ngs ca n reveal unj ust i fiedi neq ual i t y wi t hi n f undam en t ali nst i t ut i on s h t at once ass ed punnot i cednd aunc hal l en ged ,t hi s Cou rthas n i vok edeq ual prot ect i onpri nci pl es otn i va l i dat e aw l s mp i osi ng sexbased i neq ual i t y on marr i age, e see, . g. ,Ki r c hbe r gv .Fe e ns t r a, 45 0 U. S. 455, 460 –4 61 , an d con firm edt he rel ati onbet ween l i bert y a nd equ al e i . t g y, . ,see, M. L.B.v .S. L., J. 51 9 U . S. 10 2,12 0– 12 1. The C ou rthas c anow k l ed ged t he n i t er l oc ki ng n at ure of t heseon ci st t ut i on al saf eg uardsn i t he con t ext of t he ega l lt reat men t ofga ys n a d l esbi ans.See Lawr e nc e , 53 9 U. S. , at 57 5.Thi s dy nam i c al so ap pl i es ot sam esex arri m age. The h cal l en ged l aw s bu rden t he i l bert y of sam esexou p cl es, an d they bri dge a cen t ral prec ep t s of eq ual i t y.The m arri age aw ls atssu i e a re niessen ce unequ al : Sam ese xc ou pl es are en i ed d ben efi t s aff or dedopp osi t ese xc ou pl es and arearr b edf ro m exerc i si ng af undam en t alri gh t . Especi al l y a ga i nsta l on g hi st oryf o di sa pprova l oft hei r el rat i on sh i ps,t hi s d en i al work s a rave g nda con t i nui ng h arm , ser vi ng to sr di espect an d su bord i nate gays nd l esbi a an s. Pp. 18 –2 2. The ri gh tt o m arry s i af undamen t alri gh ti nherent n t h i e i l be ry t of t he pers on , an d underhe tD ue P r oc es an d Equ alPr ot ec t i onCl au se s of t he Fou rt eent h Amen dm en tc ou pl esoft he a sm ese x m ay ot n be dep r i ved of t hat ri gh t an dt hat i bert l y.Sam esexou c pl es ay m exerc i se he t u f ndam en t al ri gh t t o m arr y. ( 2)The F ou rt eent h Amen dm en tr equ i r es at St es ot e ro cgn i ze am se-se x marr i ag es val i dl y perf or medou t ofSt at e.Si nc e sam ese x cou pl es ay m now exerc i se he t u f ndamen t alri gh tt o m arr y n i al l St ates ,t heres in o l aw f ul basi s or f a St at e toef u r se ot recogn i ze a l aw f ul sam esex marr i ag e perf or med nian ot herSt at e on t he grou nd of i t s a sm ese x ch aract er . Pp. 27–28.
