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Perspectives On Marriage Equality And The Supreme Court, The Editors
Perspectives On Marriage Equality And The Supreme Court, The Editors
Fordham Law Review
On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Obergefell v. Hodges, one of the most significant civil rights decisions in recent years. For many of our generation, the Court’s conclusion that same-sex couples enjoy the constitutional right to marry simply confirmed deeply held beliefs about the importance of marriage equality and inclusion for all. We recognize, however, that for American society more broadly, the decision has evoked strong feelings on both sides of the marriage equality debate. For some, Obergefell delivered a unique gift that was unimaginable even a few decades ago: the ability of same-sex couples to …
The Power Of Dignity, Elizabeth B. Cooper
The Power Of Dignity, Elizabeth B. Cooper
Fordham Law Review
This Essay juxtaposes the historical and judicial equating of homosexuality and stigma with the Court’s development of a jurisprudence of dignity for gay men and lesbians, culminating in its decision in Obergefell v. Hodges. The language of Obergefell reflects an acceptance of and respect for gay men and lesbians that—regardless of one’s actual desire to marry or attitudes toward the institution of marriage—will profoundly change not only how the law treats LGB individuals, but also how we are treated by others, as well as how we perceive ourselves. I do not mean to assert that Obergefell is without its …
Roberts, Kennedy, And The Subtle Differences That Matter In Obergefell, Joseph Landau
Roberts, Kennedy, And The Subtle Differences That Matter In Obergefell, Joseph Landau
Fordham Law Review
By upholding a nationwide right to marry for same-sex couples in Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court’s enormously significant decision resolves a major civil rights question that has percolated through our legal system and coursed through our culture for some time. The ruling was not an unforeseen outcome, but it brings welcome clarity by ensuring marriage rights for same-sex couples throughout all fifty states. Building on United States v. Windsor—a 2013 decision striking down section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which prevented gay and lesbian married couples from receiving federal benefits—Obergefell is an important and …
Hail Marriage And Farewell, Ethan J. Leib
Hail Marriage And Farewell, Ethan J. Leib
Fordham Law Review
My conclusion in what follows is that, notwithstanding much rhetoric in the opinion, states have some room to rethink marriage in light of marriage equality. And with some intellectual jujitsu, this opening to rethink the state’s place in relational ordering gives marriage-skeptics another bite at the apple to get something they wanted all along: to decenter the largely religious, gendered, and bourgeois institution of marriage. Justice Kennedy’s opinion has the unfortunate result of reaffirming marriage at the top of a relational hierarchy, yet there are surely other ways we can have civil rights and equality for gay people without marriage …
Up From Marriage: Freedom, Solitude, And Individual Autonomy In The Shadow Of Marriage Equality, Catherine Powell
Up From Marriage: Freedom, Solitude, And Individual Autonomy In The Shadow Of Marriage Equality, Catherine Powell
Fordham Law Review
Obergefell v. Hodges represents a tremendous victory for those of us who believe that each individual has the right to love, form bonds, and create families with whomever one so desires. Through Obergefell and the line of cases from Griswold v. Connecticut and Loving v. Virginia onward, the Court has now repeatedly affirmed the freedoms to plan, to choose, and to create one’s own family as fundamental.
Race, Dignity, And The Right To Marry, Robin A. Lenhardt
Race, Dignity, And The Right To Marry, Robin A. Lenhardt
Fordham Law Review
Justice Kennedy’s majority opinion in Obergefell v. Hodges asserts legal marriage’s capacity to afford same-sex couples a measure of “equal dignity” and belonging too long denied. In this Essay, I ask whether there is any reason to believe that marriage could do the same for African Americans. Could broader entrance into marriage, as some conservatives suggest, provide Blacks—gay and straight—a measure of belonging that has been frustratingly elusive, even as the nation prepares to celebrate the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the Thirteenth Amendment’s ratification?
Obergefell'S Conservatism: Reifying Familial Fronts, Clare Huntington
Obergefell'S Conservatism: Reifying Familial Fronts, Clare Huntington
Fordham Law Review
I am delighted with the result in Obergefell v. Hodges, but I am unhappy with the Court’s reasoning. In lieu of a straightforward, and far more defensible, decision based purely on the Equal Protection Clause, Justice Kennedy’s reliance on the Due Process Clause is deeply problematic.
Does A Marriage Really Need Sex?: A Critical Analysis Of The Gender Restriction On Marriage, Randi E. Frankle
Does A Marriage Really Need Sex?: A Critical Analysis Of The Gender Restriction On Marriage, Randi E. Frankle
Fordham Urban Law Journal
This Note discusses the issues surrounding intersex persons and the right to marry. The Comment first discusses the constitutional protection of the right to marry, intersex conditions, and case law regarding intersex, transsexual, and same-sex marriage. It further addresses the consequences for marriage when it is narrowly defined. Further, the Comment proposes an alternative solution to the one many courts have used. This solution allows an intersex person to self-designate her gender and be able to marry either a man or a woman. Finally, this Comment argues that if an intersex person can marry either a man or a woman, …
Towards A Constitutional Right To Counsel In Matrimonial Litigation, Gary R. Matano
Towards A Constitutional Right To Counsel In Matrimonial Litigation, Gary R. Matano
Fordham Urban Law Journal
The marriage institution is the basic unit in the anatomical composition of American society as it exists today. The right to marry and the right to divorce when marriage fails have long been held in the highest esteem by our nation's courts. But some citizens of the State of New York are judicially denied the right to terminate their marriages because they are indigents. The court has denied indigents their requested assignments of counsel when the assistance of counsel was unquestionably necessary for prospective matrimonial litigants. The first problem posed by that holding is that it operates as a virtual …