The Supreme Court ruled on Friday that same sex couples have
the same right to marry as different sex couples. In a 5-4 decision, the court
ruled that all states are to grant same-sex marriages and recognize same-sex
marriages granted in other states, a decision that comes as a huge victory for
the LGBT movement, wrapping up decades of activism.
The decision expands on the 2013 ruling in Obergefell v.
Hodges (as well as 3 other related cases) that struck down the federal Defense
Of Marriage Act but still allowed states to maintain their own bans.
Obergefell v. Hodges came to fruition when a same-sex couple
from Cincinnati, Ohio filed a lawsuit, Obergefell v. Kasich, based on the fact
that state discriminates against same-sex couples who have married lawfully
out-of-state. Jim Obergefell married John Arthur, his partner of 20 years,
shortly before Arthur died of cancer in 2013. Obergefell wanted to be listed as
Arthur's surviving spouse on his death certificate based on their legal
marriage in Maryland on July 11, 2013. But Ohio being one of the 30 states that
passed a constitutional amendment that restricted marriage to one man and one
woman, denied Obergefell this right.
Justice Kennedy sums up the decision beautifully, saying “No
union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of
love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. In forming a marital union,
two people become something greater than once they were. As some of the
petitioners in these cases demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may
endure even past death. It would misunderstand these men and women to say they
disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they seek to find its
fulfillment for themselves. Their hope is not to be condemned to live in
loneliness, excluded from one of civilization’s oldest institutions. They ask
for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that
right.”
There is still a lot of work to be done in the right for
equality, but it is truly a momentous and exciting day for same sex couples,
their loved ones and for our country!
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