Facts
- Fourteen same-sex couples and two surviving partners of deceased same-sex spouses challenged state marriage laws in Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee.
- The challenged laws limited marriage to one man and one woman and/or refused recognition of same-sex marriages validly performed in other states.
- Federal district courts ruled for the plaintiffs, holding the laws violated the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses.
- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit consolidated the cases and reversed, upholding the state marriage bans and nonrecognition policies.
- The Supreme Court granted certiorari to decide whether the Fourteenth Amendment requires states to license same-sex marriages and recognize same-sex marriages lawfully performed out of state.
Issues
- Whether the Fourteenth Amendment requires a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex.
- Whether the Fourteenth Amendment requires a state to recognize a same-sex marriage lawfully licensed and performed in another state.
Decision
- The Supreme Court reversed the Sixth Circuit in a 5–4 decision.
- The Court held that the Fourteenth Amendment requires states to license marriages between two people of the same sex.
- The Court held that the Fourteenth Amendment requires states to recognize same-sex marriages lawfully performed out of state.
- The majority relied on both the Due Process Clause (fundamental right to marry) and the Equal Protection Clause (bar on unequal treatment in access to that right).
- The Court rejected the argument that the issue must be left solely to democratic processes when fundamental rights are at stake.
Legal Principles
- The right to marry is a fundamental liberty protected by the Fourteenth Amendment, and same-sex couples may exercise that right on the same terms as opposite-sex couples.
- Due Process and Equal Protection are related guarantees; when a law both burdens a fundamental liberty and imposes unequal treatment, each clause informs the scope of the other.
- States must provide same-sex couples access to civil marriage with equal rights and responsibilities and must recognize lawful same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions.
- History and tradition inform the identification of fundamental rights but do not fix their outer bounds.
- The decision overruled prior precedent that had foreclosed federal constitutional review of same-sex marriage claims.
Conclusion
The Court held that state laws denying marriage licenses to same-sex couples or refusing to recognize lawful same-sex marriages violate the Fourteenth Amendment, requiring nationwide licensing and recognition of same-sex marriage.