Obergefell v. Hodges (14-556-q1)
argument 14-556-q1Obergefell v. Hodges
Supreme Court of the United States
1h 29m
6 speakers
8 chapters
transcribed 6 days ago
official recording ↗
Transcript
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What constitutional question does Obergefell v. Hodges raise about the definition of marriage?
We'll hear argument this morning in case uh number fourteen five fifty six, Obergefell versus Hodges and the consolidated cases.
Ms.
Bonoato.
Mr Chief Justice, may it please the court. The intimate and committed relationships of same sex couples just like those of heterosexual couples, provide mutual support and are the foundation of family life in our society. Yet a legal commitment. Responsibility and protection that is marriage. is off limits to gay people as a class. The stain of unworthiness that follows on individuals and families. contravenes the basic constitutional commitment to equal dignity. Indeed, the abiding purpose of the Fourteenth Amendment is to preclude relegating classes of persons to second tier status. What do you do
with the Windsor case where the court stressed The federal government's historic deference to states when it comes to matters of domestic r relations.
States do have primacy over domestic relations, except that their laws must respect the constitutional rights of persons, and Windsor couldn't have been clearer about that. And here we have a whole class of people who are denied equal right to be able to join in this very extensive government institution that provides protection for families.
Well you say join in the institution. The the the argument on the other side is that they're seeking to redefine the institution. Um every definition that I looked up prior to about a dozen years ago defined marriage as unity between a man and a woman as husband and wife. Obviously if you succeed, that core definition will no longer be operable.
I hope not, Your Honor, because what we're really talking about here is a class of people who are by state laws excluded from being able to participate in this institution. And if Your Honor's question is about Does this really draw a sexual orientation line?
No, m my question is you're not seeking to join the institution. You're seeking to change what the institution is. fundamental core of the institution is the opposite sex relationship and you want to introduce into it a same sex relationship.
Two points on that, Your Honor. To the extent that if you're talking about the fundamental right to marry as a core male female institution, I think when we look at the Fourteenth Amendment we know that it provides enduring guarantees and that what we once viewed as the role of women Or even the role of gay people is something that has changed in our society. So, in a sense, just as the Lawrence Court called out the Bowers Court for not appreciating the extent of the liberty at stake. in the same vein here. The question is whether gay people share that same liberty to be able to form family
relationships. You think about words or cases and and the word that keeps coming back to me in this case is Is millennia. uh plus time. Uh first of all there has not been really time, so the respondents say for the federal system to uh engage in this debate. The separate states. But on a larger scale. Uh it's been it was about about the same time between Brown and loving as between Lawrence and this case. It's about ten years. Um And so that's time for the scholars and the commentators and the and the bar and the public to to engage in it. But still ten years is I I don't even know how to count the decimals when we talk about millennia. This definition has been with us for millennia. And it it it's very difficult for the court to say, Oh well we we we we know better.
Well, I don't think this is a question of the court knowing better. When we think about the debate, the place of gay people in our civic society is something that has been contested for more than a century. And in this in the last century, immigration exclusions, the place of gay people in public employment and federal service, these are all things that have been contested and and you can you can say ten years of marriage from Massachusetts, but it's also in the nineteen seventies. Good. The Baker case from Minnesota reached this court, and that's over forty years ago. And it was over twenty years ago that the Hawaiian Supreme Court seemed to indicate that it would rule in favor of marriage.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What constitutional question does Obergefell v. Hodges raise about the definition of marriage?
0:01–11:42
2
How do the petitioners argue that the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees a right to same‑sex marriage?
11:42–22:25
3
What historical and cultural precedents do the respondents cite to defend the traditional marriage definition?
22:25–35:13
4
How does the Court weigh equal‑protection claims against the states’ interest in regulating marriage?
35:13–45:40
5
What role do religious‑freedom concerns play in the debate over same‑sex marriage licensing?
45:40–56:23
6
How do the parties address the practical impact of marriage on children and family stability?
56:23–1:07:29
7
What precedent‑setting arguments are made about the “wait‑and‑see” approach versus immediate judicial action?
1:07:29–1:20:17
8
What final conclusions do the Justices draw about the balance between democratic processes and constitutional rights?
1:20:17–1:30:22