Obergefell v Hodges Assignment Help

The Obergefell v. Hodges is a legal case in 2015 that took up whether the definition of marriage as a union between one man and one woman a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment of the US Constitution. Let us look into the more intricate details of this case.

What is Obergefell v. Hodges?

The Obergefell v. Hodges was a legal case fought between James Obergefell, the American civil rights activist, who represented the petitioners, and Richard Hodges, the Ohio Department of Health Director. There were two questions presented–

• Is it constitutional to ban same-sex marriage?
• Is it constitutional to not recognise same-sex marriage?

Therefore, the Court had to decide on both the "marriage question" and the "recognition question" jointly.

It ended with the holding that the Fourteenth Amendment requires a State to license same-sex marriage. Even if a same-sex couple's marriage happens out of the state, the state must recognise the union as legal.

Obergefell v. Hodges Summary

The Obergefell v. Hodges was a landmark case in which the Supreme Court, on June 26, 2015, ruled (5-4) that States need to protect same-sex marriages under the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. Moreover, the Court deemed the ban on such marriages unconstitutional. The states also needed to recognise same-sex marriages performed outside of the state.

This historic case helped in consolidating four same-sex marriage cases from Ohio, Tennessee, Michigan and Kentucky and gave a proper closure to the United States v. Windsor case in 2013, where the Supreme Court failed to address the constitutionality of same-sex marriages.

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Why Is Obergefell v. Hodges Important?

The decision of the Supreme Court to deem a ban on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional in the Obergefell v. Hodges case on June 26, 2015, had a significant impact on the LGBTQA+ community.

Bans on same-sex marriage, the stigmatisation and prejudices against LGBTQA+ couples and the violence against such minorities were the leading causes for anxiety and depression in queer people. By recognising same-sex marriage as constitutional, the Obergefell v. Hodges case helped improve the emotional well-being of people.

In various studies conducted during this time, you can see a significant rise in the percentage of the satisfaction and happiness level in LGBTQA+ adults. It also had a substantial impact on the overall life satisfaction among LGBTQA+ adults.

These studies observed that the positive effects were the greatest in all the states that legalised same-sex marriage following the Obergefell v. Hodges case.

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How To Cite Obergefell v. Hodges?

Citing any legal case is essential if you're going to refer to it in any assignment. In the Obergefell v. Hodges case, you can use the following citation methods:

• In the case of the MLA format

United States, Supreme Court. Obergefell v. Hodges. 26 Jun. 2015. Oyez, Chicago-Kent College of Law at Illinois Tech, www.oyez.org/cases/2014/14-556. 

• In the case of the APA format 

Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. ___ (2015). https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/14pdf/14-556_3204.pdf

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How Did Obergefell v. Hodges Start?

You can trace back the origins of the Obergefell v. Hodges case to several other cases in the past that originated from the four states of Ohio, Michigan, Tennessee and Kentucky. These states defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman and deemed same-sex marriage illegal.

This action led several same-sex couples to file lawsuits in the Federal District Courts in their home states. They claimed that the state officials were in direct violation of the Fourteenth Amendment by denying them the right to marriage and not recognising out-of-state marriages. Each of the district courts ruled in favour of the petitioners, thereby elevating it to the United States Supreme Court.

The Obergefell v. Hodges case owes its origins to the Michigan case of DeBoer v. Snyder, the Ohio cases of Obergefell v. Kasich and Henry v. Wymyslo, the Kentucky cases of Bourke v. Beshear and Love v. Beshear, and the Tennessee case of Tanco v. Haslam.

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Obergefell v. Hodges Case

The decision taken by the Supreme Court in the Obergefell v. Hodges case on June 26, 2015, came on the second anniversary of the United States v. Windsor ruling where the Court struck down section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act which denied federal recognition to same-sex marriages.

Justices Anthony Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan were part of the majority opinion which stated that Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee violated the Fourteenth Amendment by excluding same-sex couples from civil marriages.

Obergefell v. Hodges Significance

Anyone could feel the significance of the Obergefell v. Hodges case throughout the entire LGBTQA+ community in America. Fred Sainz, Vice President of Communications at the Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBT organisation in America, said, "If the Supreme Court decides in favour of full marriage equality, it will be the largest conferral of rights on LGBT people in the history of our country."

Same-sex marriages have been controversial for ages, with LGBTQA+ couples having to face widespread hate, discrimination and violence. Before the Obergefell v. Hodges case, over 70% of the states and the District of Columbia had recognised same-sex marriages. Only 13 states were remaining.

In the Obergefell v. Hodges case, Justice Kennedy concluded that marriage was a profound form of union embodying the highest ideal of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice and family. It would be a misunderstanding to conclude that LGBTQA+ couples do not respect the significance of marriages. Therefore, they also have an equal right to dignity in the eyes of the law.

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