Supreme Court rules in favor of same-sex marriage, calls marriage a ‘fundamental right’

The Supreme Court handed down another historic ruling today, determining that same-sex marriage should be legal nationwide and that marriage is a “fundamental right” that could no longer be denied gays and lesbians.

Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote the opinion and was joined by the court’s four liberal judges. The four conservative judges dissented, with three different dissenting opinions. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote one dissenting opinion, with Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas joining. Scalia, Thomas and Justice Samuel Alito each wrote their own dissenting opinions.

In his opinion, which can be read in full here, Kennedy essentially ruled that denying same-sex couples the “fundamental right” of marriage is outdated. “The limitation of marriage to opposite-sex couples may long have seemed natural and just, but its inconsistency with the central meaning of the fundamental right to marry is now manifest,” he wrote.

The court ruled that laws that define marriage as between a man and a woman are “unequal” and “burden the liberty of same-sex couples.” Under the 14th Amendment, which provides equal protections to citizens, it would be unfair to continue denying same-sex couples this right.

“The right to marry is a fundamental right inherent in the liberty of the person, and under the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment couples of the same-sex may not be deprived of that right and that liberty,” the opinion reads. “Same-sex couples may exercise the fundamental right to marry.”

In his dissent, Roberts was blunt, insisting that the rights of marriage are not the concerns of the court and should be determined by voters and legislatures.

“Whether same-sex marriage is a good idea should be of no concern to us. Under the Constitution, judges have power to say what the law is, not what it should be. The people who ratified the Constitution authorized courts to exercise ‘neither force nor will but merely judgment,’” Roberts wrote, quoting one of Alexander Hamilton’s Federalist Papers.

Roberts suggested that it would actually be better for the same-sex rights movement to continue to push for rights through democracy, rather than in the courts.

“Supporters of same-sex marriage have achieved considerable success persuading their fellow citizens—through the democratic process—to adopt their view. That ends today,” Roberts wrote. “Five lawyers have closed the debate and enacted their own vision of marriage as a matter of constitutional law. Stealing this issue from the people will for many cast a cloud over same-sex marriage, making a dramatic social change that much more difficult to accept.”

The court heard cases from Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and Michigan. The combined ruling will now be known as Obergefell v. Hodges. Prior to the ruling, same-sex marriage was legal in 37 states, plus the District of Columbia.