Case Study

http://gaymarriage.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=006193

Gay Marriage in the US Supreme Court, 2015

On April 2015, the US Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Obergefell v. Hodges, whether or not gay marriage is a right guaranteed by the US Constitution. Couple months after, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that gay marriage is a constitutional right. After this rule, gay marriage is allowed in all 50 US states and all existing bans are invalid. This case in particular was interesting for me because it was a triumphal love story. Jim Obergefell sued his home state Ohio along with his partner John Arthur, who was dying of ALS. The couple wanted to acknowledge their marriage in Arthur's death certificate but the state of Ohio did not allow it because same-sex marriage was not allowed in Ohio. However, Arthur and Obergefell married in Maryland but was not recognized in Ohio. After Arthur passed away a federal judge ruled that the state of Ohio must recognize the legal union. In the end the ruling was, "if States are required by the Constitution to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, the justifications for refusing to recognize those marriages performed elsewhere are undermined." In the end Obergefell won the case against the state of Ohio and the union was legally recognized in the state of Ohio.