![]() Abortion, like marriage equality, access to contraception and a number of other rights, had been upheld through the 14th Amendment’s due process clause meant to protect against deprivation of the right to life, liberty and property.Ī concurring opinion by Justice Clarence Thomas in the Dobbs v. citizenship - and with providing equal protection for all citizens.īefore Friday's ruling, gay marriage had already been made legal in 37 states and the District of Columbia - by either legislative or voter action or by federal courts that overturned state' bans.The right to an abortion was an unenumerated right, meaning it was not explicitly written in the Constitution and has instead been granted through the Supreme Court’s interpretation of major legal cases. The 14th Amendment, we'll remind you, was ratified shortly after the Civil War. The justices had been asked to decide whether the 14th Amendment requires states to a) license same-sex marriages and b) recognize such unions that were made in other states. As the Supreme Court's summary states, "The history of marriage is one of both continuity and change." Together, they involve a dozen couples who challenged same-sex marriage bans in Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee - the only states with bans on marriage between gay and lesbian couples that had been sustained by a federal appeals court.įriday's ruling overturned that decision by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. Hodges, which is linked to three other same-sex marriage cases that rose up through the court system. Gay and lesbian couples now have the right to marry, just like anyone else. Welcoming the news on Twitter, President Obama wrote, "Today is a big step in our march toward equality. ![]() We've covered those dissents in a separate post. Justice Scalia said the Supreme Court's "highly unrepresentative panel of nine" had violated "a principle even more fundamental than no taxation without representation." In his dissent, Roberts wrote that the court had taken an "extraordinary step" in deciding not to allow states to decide the issue for themselves, saying that the Constitution does not define marriage.Ĭalling the ruling "deeply disheartening," Roberts said that those on the winning side of the issue should celebrate a victory - "But do not celebrate the Constitution," he wrote. The Supreme Court said that the right to marry is fundamental - and Kennedy wrote that under the 14th Amendment's protections, "couples of the same-sex may not be deprived of that right and that liberty." Speaking at the White House, President Obama praised the Supreme Court's ruling, saying it arrived "like a thunderbolt" after a series of back-and-forth battles over same-sex marriage. ![]() Obergefell has been traveling from Cincinnati to Washington every week, to be sure he would be in the court when a decision was announced in his case. Holding a photograph of Arthur as he spoke Friday, Obergefell said, "No American should have to suffer that indignity." ![]() He filed suit because he wasn't allowed to put his name on his late husband John Arthur's death certificate after Arthur died from ALS. Obergefell continued, "the four words etched onto the front of the Supreme Court - 'equal justice under law' - apply to us, too." ET: 'Our Love Is Equal,' Obergefell Saysįriday's ruling "affirms what millions across this country already know to be true in their hearts: our love is equal," says lead plaintiff Jim Obergefell, who challenged Ohio's ban on same-sex marriage. The opinion includes more than 100 pages we've embedded it near the bottom of this post.
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