Supreme Court legalizes same-sex marriage anywhere in the U.S.
(RNN) – The Supreme Court has upheld same-sex marriage with a 5-4 decision, saying that the 14th Amendment requires marriage licenses to be issued between two people of the same sex.
The decision was issued in the case Obergefell v. Hodges, which brought forth by a Cincinnati man, who sued Ohio for discrimination for not recognizing his out-of-state marriage.
James Obergefell sued so the state would allow him to be listed as the surviving spouse of his partner, John Arthur, who was diagnosed with ALS. Arthur died three months after the couple was married in a Baltimore airport, in Maryland which recognized same-sex marriage statewide.
Obergefell attended the Supreme Court every day they issued opinions for this session while waiting on a decision.
The case, and those it was combined with, are the culmination of a long line of lawsuits filed by same-sex marriage supporters, fighting for the same rights as other married couples under the law.
