For two decades, James Obergefell and John Arthur were in a committed same-sex relationship in Ohio. Arthur got very sick, and the couple was eager to marry before he died. Since same-sex marriage was illegal in Ohio and Arthur could not easily move, the couple wed inside a medical transport plane parked on the tarmac in Maryland, which allowed same-sex marriage. Three months later, Arthur died. Ohio refused to list Obergefell on Arthur’s death certificate. 

Many other states besides Ohio, including Michigan, Kentucky, and Tennessee, also defined marriage as a union between one man and one woman. These states not only prohibited same-sex marriage they also refused to recognize unions performed in states where it was legal. Many other same-sex couples from those states had suffered similar experiences to Ober4gefell’s. They were denied adoption and parental rights, hospital access, and basic inheritance and tax benefits, among other important privileges. 

Obergefell and over two dozen others claimed these laws violated the Fourteenth Amendment. The appellate court held that the Constitution did not requires the states to license same-sex marriages or to recognize those performed out of state. The petitioners appealed to the Supreme Court. 

Questions:

1. Does the Fourteenth Amendment requires states to legally recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex? 

2. What does the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection clause require?

3. What governmental rights, benefits and responsibilities were denied to same-sex couples in states that did not recognize a same-sex marriage? 

4. What other reasons did the Court give for its decision?