The Impact of Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) on Same-Sex Marriage Rights in the U.S.

Potential Case

Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)

Year

The case was argued on April 28, 2015, and decided on June 26, 2015.

Case Premise and Implications for the Power of Government

Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) is a Supreme Court case culminating a set of previously filed district court cases where plaintiffs argued the ban on same-sex marriages unconstitutional. The case of Obergefell v. Hodges has become a turning point in the legislative regulation of same-sex marriage, recognizing it constitutional on the whole territory of the United States. Before this case, only several states had legal premises for same-sex marriage.

However, the Supreme Court judge ruled the Obergefell v. Hodges case based on the Fourth Amendment of the US Constitution (“Obergefell et al. v. Hodges,’ 2014). The legal implications of this case hold that same-sex married couples have the same civil rights and protection as opposite-sex married couples (“Statement by the Vice President,” 2015). Thus, the importance of this legal case is its revolutionary impact on the liberties and rights of LGBTQ communities in the United States.

Rationale for Research Interest

A paper focusing on the Obergefell v. Hodges case might discuss prioritizing the liberties protected by the Fourteenth Amendment. One might investigate the history of same-sex marriage legislation to emphasize that the ban on such marriage was an act of deprivation of liberties, which is unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment (Oh, 2022).

Furthermore, the paper might address the scope of implications of same-sex marriage legalization on healthcare, politics, and the workplace, where the protection of civil rights of LGBTQ has changed (Foster et al., 2020). The case demonstrates that the federal government’s power is an ultimate means of legal ruling capable of changing the states’ stances on controversial issues, especially those related to human rights. Obergefell v. Hodges is of interest because of its groundbreaking impact on developing democratic society in the United States of America.

References

Foster, B. P., Manikas, A., & Preece, D. (2020). LGBTQ workplace inclusion before and after Obergefell v. Hodges: Association with Tobin’s Q and ROA. Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy, 21(4), 481-514.

Obergefell et al. v. Hodges, director, Ohio Department of Health, et al. (2014). Web.

Oh, R. (2022). Love is love: The fundamental right to love, marriage, and Obergefell v. Hodges. ConLawNOW, 13(2), 143-169.

Statement by the Vice President on the Supreme Court Decision in Obergefell v. Hodges. (2015). Web.