In one of the most highly anticipated rulings of its term, the United States Supreme Court announced on June 26 that states must license same-sex marriages and recognize unions from other states, putting to rest a long legal battle over the marriage rights of gays and lesbians.
The watershed ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges expands the sanctioning of gay marriages beyond the 37 states and Washington, D.C., where it is currently legal, to all 50, conferring to same-sex couples the same benefit and rights long enjoyed by heterosexual couples.
In a majority decision penned by Justice Anthony Kennedy, the Court determined that the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which promises equal protection for all citizens under the law, compels all states to recognize same-sex marriage. The ruling comes in the wake of more than two decades of state and federal wrangling over the issue, beginning with Hawaii’s recognition of same-sex marriage in 1993. Ten years later, the Supreme Court discredited sodomy laws under Lawrence v. Texas and recently nullified a ban on federal recognition of gay marriage in 2013 in United States v. Windsor.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the main dissent, arguing that the court was usurping action better left to the democratic process. “This Court is not a legislature. Whether same-sex marriage is a good idea should be of no concern to us,” Roberts wrote. “In short, our Constitution does not enact any one theory of marriage. The people of a State are free to expand marriage to include same-sex couples, or to retain the historic definition.”
While the ruling is indeed momentous, the battle for same-sex couples remains uphill in many areas of the U.S. For example, gays and lesbians still face discrimination in housing and employment, and debates over the tension between religious liberty and discrimination will continue.
Still, the trend of public support has been largely one-directional. A Gallup survey released in May showed a record-high 60 percent of Americans now approve of same-sex marriage.
Ellen Hayes can be reached at ellen.hayes@gcgrapevine.com
