OBERGEFELL et al. v.

HODGES, DIRECTOR, OHIO DEPARTMENT OF

HEALTH, et al.

Facts:

Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee define marriage as a

union between one man and one woman. Plaintiffs challenged the
laws as violating the Fourteenth Amendment.

Issue:

Whether or not the State laws challenged by the petitioners in

these cases are valid considering that they exclude same-sex couples
from civil marriage on the same terms and conditions as opposite-sex
couples.

Ruling:

No, it is not valid.

The Fourteenth Amendment requires States to recognize same-

sex marriages validly performed out of State.

Since same-sex couples may now exercise the fundamental

right to marry in all States, there is no lawful basis for a State to refuse
to recognize a lawful same-sex marriage performed in another State
on the ground of its same-sex character. The right to marry is a
fundamental right inherent in the liberty of the person, and under the
Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth
Amendment of the US Constitution. Couples of the same-sex may not
be deprived of that right and that liberty. Same-sex couples may
exercise the fundamental right to marry.

Note:

Four principles and traditions demonstrate that the reasons

marriage is fundamental under the Constitution apply with equal
force to same-sex couples:
1. the right to personal choice regarding marriage is inherent in the
concept of individual autonomy.
2. the right to marry is fundamental because it supports a two-
person union unlike any other in its importance to the committed
individuals.
3. it safeguards children and families and thus draws meaning from
related rights of childrearing, procreation, and education.
4. marriage is a keystone of the Nation’s social order.