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Same-Sex Marriage

Same-Sex Marriage Update

April 25, 2015 Update:

Below is the United States Supreme Court media release for the Same-Sex Marriage cases.

The Court will provide the audio recording and transcript of the oral argument in 14-556, Obergefell v. Hodges, and consolidated cases, on an expedited basis through the Court’s Website. The argument is scheduled to be heard on Tuesday, April 28 from 10 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.
The Court will post the audio recording and unofficial transcript as soon as the digital files are available for uploading to the Website. The audio recording and transcript should be available no later than 2 p.m. on April 28.
Anyone interested in the proceedings will be able to access the recording and transcript directly through links on the homepage of the Court’s Website. The Court’s Website address is
www.supremecourt.gov.

The consolidated cases are from the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals which upheld the state’s ban on same-sex marriage. The cases are as follows:

OBERGEFELL, JAMES, ET AL. V. HODGES, RICHARD, ET AL. No. 14-556

This Ohio case two issues presented are: (1) Whether Ohio’s constitutional and statutory bans on recognition of marriages of same-sex couples validly entered in other jurisdictions violate the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. (2) Whether Ohio’s refusal to recognize a judgment of adoption of an Ohio-born child issued to a same-sex couple by the courts of a sister state violates the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

TANCO, VALERIA, ET AL. V. HASLAM, GOV. OF TN, ET AL. No. 14-562

This Tennessee case three issues presented are (1) Whether a state violates the Due Process or Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution by depriving same-sex couples of the fundamental right to marry, including recognition of their lawful, out-of-state marriages. (2) Whether a state impermissibly infringes upon same-sex couples’ fundamental right to interstate travel by refusing to recognize their lawful out-of-state marriages. (3) Whether the United States Supreme Court’s summary dismissal in Baker v. Nelson, 409 U.S. 810 (1972), is binding precedent as to petitioners’ constitutional claims.

DeBOER APRIL, ET AL. V. SNYDER, GOV. OF MI, ET AL. No. 14-571

This Michigan case issue presented is whether a state violates the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution by denying same-sex couples the right to marry.

BOURKE, GREGORY, ET. AL. V. BESHEAR, GOV OF KY, ET AL. No. 14-574

This Kentucky case two issues presented are (1) Does a State violate the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment by prohibiting gay men and lesbians from marrying an individual of the same sex? (2) Does a State violate the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment by refusing to recognize legal marriages between individuals of the same sex performed in other jurisdictions?

THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT CONSOLIDATED 14-556, 14-562, 14-571 AND 14-574 ABOVE AND LIMITED THE ISSUES TO THE FOLLOWING TWO QUESTIONS:

1) Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex?
2) Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out-of-state?

The Court of Appeals for the 4th, 7th, 9th and 10th Circuits have decided that the Fourteenth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution prohibits states from banning same-sex marriages. 36 states and the District of Columbia now legally recognize same-sex marriages.