The Pros And Cons Of Gay Marriage

In The Gay Marriage Case, Obergefell v Hodges, the United States Supreme Court decided that a state may not prohibit same-sex marriage. Instead, it emphasized that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to the gay society through the Due Process Clause of the 14th amendment of the United States of America Constitution. The involved decision maker in the case was Justice Anthony Kennedy, who gave four primary reasons for his decision.

The Supreme Court’s decision finalized the questions of whether states have the right to pass laws treating marriages differently based upon sex, and if states have to acknowledge the marriage of same-sex couples who were married in another state. On a 5-4 decision, the Court determined that the Fourteenth Amendment requires states to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples because they cannot be treated differently than opposite sex couples. The court also determined that states have to recognize same-sex marriages the same way they do with opposite-sex. However, the Supreme Court did not create a law about same sex marriage, it just stated that

In the case of Barron v. Baltimore in 1833, the Supreme Court ruled that the Bill of Rights are just restrictions on the federal government alone. To prevent the states from limiting rights granted to the citizens in the Constitution, the 14th Amendment was passed. The 14th Amendment was adopted on July 9, 1868 as one of the Reconstruction Amendments. The amendment addresses citizenship rights and equal protection of the laws and was proposed in response to issues related to former slaves after the American Civil War. It was severely contested, especially by the states of the Confederacy that were defeated and were forced to ratify it in order to regain representation in Congress. The amendment’s first section includes many clauses, but one important one is the Equal Protection Clause. This clause requires each state to provide equal protection under the law to all people, including non-citizens, within its jurisdiction. The clause has also been the basis for many decisions rejecting irrational or unnecessary discrimination against people belonging to various groups. Eventually, selective incorporation occurred in which the civil liberties granted in the Bill of Rights were applied to the states on a case-by-case basis through the 14th Amendment. Now, the same liberties that were granted to the federal government, were now enacted with the state governments. Same-sex marriage is one of these fundamental rights, rights that require a high degree of protection from government

On June 26,2015, the Supreme Court sided that gay marriage is a right protected by the U.S. Constitution in all 50 states. Previously, to their decision, same sex marriage was already legal in 37 states and

The supreme court also appealed the Sixth Circuit reversed and had all states to be able to recognised same-sex marriage in all states. So, based on this information I will do a research on why the 14th Amendment guarantees equal protection under the law should include same sex marriage. In order for me to thoroughly accomplish this paper, I will be examining more detailed all the facts and the final decisions of the case as well as the amendment(14th) to be able to get really valuable information and to be able to use it to prove my point of view and make it very clear to the audience.I will also be explaining how this issue is very important to society and how the ruling is now affecting many cases out there especially over gay rights.

In Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court successfully adopts the 14th amendment and applies both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause to establish banning of same-sex marriages unconstitutional.

The judges based their decision on the principle of equality of all before the law. The 14th Amendment requires a state to celebrate a marriage between two persons of the same sex. According to US constitutional law, each US state has its own Constitution, but it is above all the US Federal Constitution. To date 37 of the 50 American states, as well as the District of Columbia, recognized gay marriage. Now, the 14 American states that still refuse to unite two persons of the same sex will not only have to marry

Multiple groups of same sex couples sued their state agencies in four different states Ohio, Tennessee, Michigan, and Kentucky to challenge the constitutionality of those four states ‘ban on same sex marriage. The plaintiffs of each case argued that the states’ statues violated the Equal Protection Clause and their Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. One plaintiff group also brought up claims under the Civil Rights Act. The Trial court found in favor to all of the plaintiffs cases. The U.S. Court of Appeals reversed and held that the states’ ban on same sex marriage and refusal

The fourteenth amendment has five clauses as follows: Citizenship Clause, Privileges and Immunities Clause, Due Process Clause, Equal Protection Clause, and Enforcement Clause. Of the five clauses, two were specifically addressed—Due Process and Equal Protection Clause. The Due Process Clause gives the right to marry, while the Equal Protection Clause states that a person shall not be denied equal protection of the law. These clauses were discussed in the case due to the state banning same-sex couples to marry. Additionally, the first amendment that “protects the rights of religious organizations to adhere to their principles…” was also brought up in the case, on the Respondent’s side (Oyez,

The argument brought before the Supreme Court was to eliminate the ban on same sex marriage that was still held by thirteen states. This was done as part of a lawsuit called Obergefell versus Hodges. Court documents outline that, “14 same-sex couples and two men whose same-sex partners are deceased, filed suits in Federal District Courts in their home States, claiming that respondent state officials violate the Fourteenth Amendment by denying them the right to marry or to have marriages lawfully performed in another State given full recognition.” (United States Court of Appeals)

The Scotus asks two key questions in the case of Obergefell V Hodges after the petition is granted on the 16th of January 2015. The first question is “Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex?” and the second question is “Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed

Same-sex couples in the states of Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Michigan challenged those states’ refusal to recognize same-sex marriage that occurred in other states that recognize same-sex marriage. The conflict between the states and same-sex couples brought up conflicts that were then taken to the court. The question of the Obergefell v. Hodges case was “Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex” (“OBERGEFELL V. HODGES”). The second question of the Obergefell v. Hodges case was “Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex that was legally licensed and performed in another state” (“OBERGEFELL V. HODGES”). The most prominent issues that the case presented were that it violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendement and Due

According to DOMA, “In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States, the word 'marriage' means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word 'spouse' refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife” (sec 3). Until recently 2013, the US Supreme Court finally delivered the verdict that declared section 3 of the DOMA, which is the rejection of right to gay marriage is unconstitutional (Shapiro 208). In “Gay Marriage Is A Fundamental Right” by Nathan Goetting, “The right to many, and to marry the person of one's choice, is a fundamental right and a necessary aspect of human happiness. This has been an explicitly stated abiding principle since the Court used its power of judicial review to strike down as unconstitutional a legislature's definition of marriage in 1967.” Currently, 17 states in the United States have legalized the right to same sex marriage. The realization of DOMA is unconstitutional has further evidenced that gay marriage is one of the civil right that should not be taken away by the government, and it is an inevitable changes that open doors for equality and equity.

The Supreme Court supported this decision by ruling that the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause and Due Process Clause promise such liberties. This decision showed the country just how controversial same-sex marriage is as many states, including Tennessee and Kentucky, provided moral obligations as their reasons behind the appeals. This relates to the civil liberties and civil rights in the united states because it violated the Equal Protection Clause and Due Process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. This decision supports the 14th amendments and supports federal laws as supreme over state laws. This case relates to the 9th amendment because according to the ninth amendment, the “enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.” This means that there is no discussion in the original constitution, people have the right to get married. Same sex marriage is a hot topic right now and it seems that in recent years, its been a constant battle of it should be legal or not. So people are interpreting the constitution differently

The fourteenth amendment states that “no State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States: nor shall any State deprive any person life, liberty, or property”. This is a social constitutional issue because the fourteenth amendment should allow to have the same rights as any person does. The right to marry should be allowed to gay couples because it’s allowed for people who aren’t gay. In the case United States v Windsor the gay couples didn’t have the same benefits as a “regular” couple would, because the gay couple weren’t given the same rights, they had to pay taxes that weren’t necessary for a married couple. The Supreme Court says that all people are treated equally they have to go through a test called Lindsley Test. This tests checks out the standards of the case and what classifications they fall