Gay marriage rights upheld nationwide by U.S. Supreme Court

Although a lower court ruling in 2014 recognized same-sex marriages in Wisconsin, the right to marry for same-sex couples declared by the U.S. Supreme Court in its June 2015 decision gives the marriages of Wisconsin same-sex couples legal weight even if they move to another state. This interstate issue was part of the case before the Supreme Court. In Obergefell vs. Hodges, one state had refused to recognize a man as a surviving spouse because he had married his partner in a different state.

Additionally, the Supreme Court considered the question of whether the equal protection and due process guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment applied to same-sex marriages. In a 5-4 decision, the justices chose to extend these rights to gay couples. Writing for the majority , Justice Anthony Kennedy acknowledged that marriage had historically been defined as a union of opposite sex partners but conceded that the institution had evolved and changed over the years.

According to an ABC News/Washington Post poll, 61 percent of the people questioned expressed support for gay and lesbian marriage rights. These marriage rights had already existed in various legal definitions in the District of Columbia and 36 states. The other states will now have to recognize same-sex marriages as equal before the law.

Before this decision, gay and lesbian people had sometimes faced challenges to their family law rights. With equal legal protection now legally established, a person could have a clearer legal path toward goals such as marriage, divorce or child adoption. An attorney could advise a person about how to proceed with family law issues such as negotiations to divide property and determine child custody and visitation.

Source: ABC News, “Same-Sex Marriage: These Are The States Affected by SCOTUS Ruling,” June 26, 2015