Today, here, the United States Supreme Court issued a decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, holding that same-sex couples have a fundamental constitutional right to marry. In so holding, the Court overturned the Sixth Circuit's decision and unified the law on marriage equality: "The Court now holds that same-sex couples may exercise the fundamental right to marry." Op. at 22.
Some selected quotes:
"This analysis compels the conclusion that same-sex couples may exercise the right to marry. The four principles and traditions to be discussed demonstrate that the reasons marriage is fundamental under the Constitution apply with equal force to same-sex couples."
"The nature of marriage is that, through its enduring bond, two persons together can find other freedoms, such as expression, intimacy, and spirituality. This is true for all persons, whatever their sexual orientation."
"But while Lawrence [v. Texas] confirmed a dimension of freedom that allows individuals to engage in intimate association without criminal liability, it does not follow that freedom stops there. Outlaw to outcast may be a step forward, but it does not achieve the full promise of liberty."
"The limitation of marriage to opposite-sex couples may long have seemed natural and just, but its inconsistency with the central meaning of the fundamental right to marry is now manifest."
"These considerations lead to the conclusion that 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 couples of the same-sex may not be deprived of that right and that liberty."
"The Court, in this decision, holds same-sex cou- ples may exercise the fundamental right to marry in all States. It follows that the Court also must hold—and it now does hold—that 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 Hawaii Supreme Court's decision in Baehr v. Lewin, the first in the nation to conclude that it was unconstitutional to deny same-sex couples the right to marry, is cited on page 8 of the SCOTUS decision.
The opinion (5-4) was authored by Justice Kennedy.
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