Table of Contents
Historical Background
Homosexuality has been an issue in this world for many years. It has always been relevant in some way or another, and although the problem of homosexuality has been around for many years, the term homosexual was not introduced until 1869. There is a long history of the ups and downs of homosexuality in America.
The very first recorded incident regarding homosexuality in America was in 1624 where a man in Virginia was caaught in the act with a servent and was executed for it(1). Back then, anyone caught in or accused of homosexual acts was executed as a punishment. People that were in a same sex relationship were very quiet about it and kept it to themselves most of the time. If someone with higher authority or leadership was caught in a homosexual relationship, their punishment would be greater then someone who was of lower class(Timeline of LGBTQ history). Throughout American history homosexuals have been oppressed and mistreated both physically and mentally. Johann Hari notes that in 1629 there were a group of puritans who were being greatly oppressed for their same-sex relationships. They all left their town together to start their own village, where they could be free to have sexual relationship with anyone they pleased.
They soon befriended the local Native American tribes and even intermarried with them. After 5 years of living in separation from their oppressors, their town was raided by another local puritan town and destroyed(1-2). Many homosexual Europeans fled from Britain because of their persecution. They fled to North America, and although same-sex relationships still were not accepted there, they had more freedom to discuss it openly(4). Once again, Johann Hari states that that in 1775, Jemima Wilkonson had a chronic fever. She claimed that Jesus Christ had entered her body and stopped her from being female, and that she was now “neuter”. She thus began to travel around America protesting sexuality because she believed that everyone should be neuter. Jemima started an “anti-sex” cult that would follow her as she traveled around America (7).
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The LGBTQ community has not always had rights, and what rights they may have had were not necessarily fair. Michael Levy notes that gay men and women have often been mistreated and abused for their “beliefs”. There were not many gay rights movements before the 19th century and in that time homosexuals were not allowed to be involved in politics as openly gay or homosexual(1). The military aimed many times to banish all gay soldiers. Even in recent times, Donald Trump has sought to try and ban all transgender soldiers from serving(Trump Bans Transgender Soldiers). In 1924 the very first documented gay rights organization was founded. This Society for Human Rights ORganization was founded in Chicago by Henry Gerber(LGBT Rights Fast Facts).
In the 20th century there were many gay rights movements that were formed to help give the gay community more rights and freedoms. After many raids and protests, the gay community won the support of the Democratic party. Since the Democratic party decided to pick up the gay rights movements, many gay men and women were urged to then enter the arena as candidates for political offices(3). In 1972 the first openly gay candidates were elected. In 1977 Harvey Milk was elected to a board of supervisors in San Francisco but was assassinated the following year. It is believed that he was killed because of the fact that he came out as a gay man after being elected. After Milk openly came out as gay, there was a slow trickle of politicians who began to come out as gay(6).
Case Itself
Many people believe that the right to marry should apply to everyone no matter what sex, and Obergefell v. Hodges is one of the many cases that ensured that equality was given in marriage. The support of gay marriage has increased vastly in America over the span of this case and has continued to increase since then.
Jim Obergefell writes that James Obergefell and John Arthur met in Cincinnati and after two decades of seeing each other decided to wed after Arthur was diagnosed with fatal ASL. They were soon married and lived as a married couple in Ohio for only three months before Arthur passed away. Following Arthurs death James wanted to have his own name on Arthurs death certificate as his spouse. The state of Ohio did not accept James’ request of having himself as the surviving spouse, so he proceeded to sue the state and won(1). Since Obergefell stepped up for what he believed was right, many other same-sex couples stepped up and did the same thing. National lawyers soon realized the vastness of the situation and stepped in. Richard Hodges was not in agreement with the views of Obergefell and decided to step in and voice his opinion on the situation. Hodges is the director of Ohio’s Department of Health, and that is part of the reason as to why he got involved in the case because when Obergefell sued the state of Ohio, he was the one to respond.
As this case was brought to the Supreme Court, the justices came together to prepare.The justices on the case were Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Bryer, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. Although each justice had their own view on same-sex marriage, they were split quite evenly on their votes. The Chief Justice John Roberts was for gay rights and was also apart of a previous case on same-sex marriage named United States v. Windsor.
The Supreme Court held a hearing for this case on June 26, 2015 in which Obergefell was vicotrious with a 5-4 win (Obergefell v. Hodges). Although there was much celebration in the LGBTQ community, there were still many states in America that did not recognize same sex Marriage. Many citizens of these states were furious about this, but there were still quite a few people that did not want same sex marriage to be recognized. Even though there was some division about this there were more states that began to legalize same-sex marriage. On November 18, 2003 Massachusetts became the first state to legalize same-sex marriage, and although this was before many of the larger Supreme Court cases, it set a trend for other neighboring states. In 2008 the state of Connecticut legalized same-sex marriage, and from then unitl present day every state has made it legal. During the time of the Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court case there were fourteen same-sex couples who had similar situations to that of Obergefell, and they all brought theirs to the Supreme Court. This is one of the reasons as to why this case was able to be brought all the way to the Supreme Court.
In 2007 most Americans opposed same-sex marriage and did not want it to be legalized. Even though there has been a large growth in the amount of support for gay marriage, the divide in America is still prevelent. When James Obergefell’s partner Arthur passed away, he had many people that came by his side to show him support, but he also had many people that came against him. Prior to this Supreme Court case, thirty-eight states has certain restrictions when it came to same-sex marriage. When the justices made their final decison, all of the restrictions that had been placed on same-sex couples were taken away.
This specific case is really the case that enable same-sex marriage to be legal in all 50 states, but even though this is a major breakthrough for the LGBT community, marriage equality is not enough. Soon after the case The HRC (Human Rights Campaign) expressed their concern about the lack of laws that would protect gay marriage. Their thought was that if there were more laws that would protect same-sex marriage, it would be harder to revoke gay marriage. Since the outcome of the case HRC releases a yearly report on how LGBT employees have been treated by certain compaies and employerers. Although there has been alot of discrimination towards gay people in America, many people are frusturated with the way the Human Rights Campaign has made such a large deal about the way gays are being treated.
This is one of the largest and most impactful cases that has been brought up to the Supreme Court, and its impact will be relevant for years to come. In todays culture many people make same-sex marriage out to be normal, but there are many people that have a different view on it. There are many studies that show that only 56% of Americans support gay marriage, but people try to make it seem like there are many more supporters than that. Although the case did help the gay community progress in their recognotion and support, there are still many people that seek to reverse the outcome of the case.
Effect on American Society
In today’s society the thought of same-sex marriage has become more acceptable. As the culture in America expands and changes, the people do as well. Same-sex marriage has had a ripple effect in the way it has shaped and molded American Society. The support has increased, but there are still struggles that the LGBT community must continue to fight against.
Soon after the case outcome was released to the public, people began reacting in many different ways to it. The LGBT community has ecstatic that they finally recieved the freedoms and rights that they had been wanting for so long, while there were many other people that were very disappointed in the outcome The final outcome of this case created new freedoms for the LGBTQ community in many ways. It gave many of them new health care benefits. Obergefell v. Hodges does not only effect gay marriage, but all same-sex couples that are seeking to get married.
Before same-sex marriage was legalized, many states sought to tie legal documents to marriage licences. Since gay marriage was not permitted, they would be denied marriage licences and the legal and health benefits that came along with that. There have been many studies that have shown that since gay marriage has been legalized the mental health of the LGBT community has improved. Even though gay people are now free to marry whomever they please, there are still many studies that show that many LGBT people will suffer mentally for years to come from the discrimination that they endured. The final decision of the Obergefell case has given the LGBT community a lot of room to move on from the past difficulties that they faced regarding their sexuality.
The case has directly affected the health benefits of many of the people in the gay community. Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act stated that marriage is between a man and a woman, and therefore this excluded all same-sex spouses from recieving federal benefits. In the United States v. Windsor the federal benefits for same-sex couples were fought for. Before Obergefell v. Hodges while some same-sex couples could get some benefits that were not federal, they were taxed heavily on what benefits they did recieve.
The outcome of the case resulted in giving the couples who lived in the states that allowed same-sex marriage some federal benefits. After the Obergefell v. Hodges case all same-sex couples gained these benefits. The laws that gve the LGBT people freedoms and rights vary from state to state. There are 29 states that do not have laws that forbid housing discrimination based off sexual orientation and gender idenity. Before the case was decided, gay couples who wanted to get married had to travel to another state that did allow gay mariage so that they could be married. This outraged many gay couples, because in James Obergefell and Johm Arthurs case, John was so ill that it was very difficult for him to travel.
Many Christian groups and organizations are troubled by the mainstreaming of homosexuality. In late 2017 there was a case that involved a baker named Jack Phillips and a same-sex couple. The gay couple requested Jack to make a cake for their wedding, but because of Jack’s religuous beliefs he refused. The couple was infuruated and proceeded to sue the baker. Despite the fact that same-sex marriage was legal at the time, people are still entitled to their own religious beliefs and freedoms. The judges voted in favor of Jack, and this case proves that no matter how many laws are passed, people will not alwys change their opinions and beliefs.
Glenn Stanton states that although Christians believe that every person is loved no matter what their sin is, but that does not mean that they have to accept the idea of gay marriage(1). The graph on the left shows that most poeple that support gay marriage range from the age of 18-29. It is said that the reasoning behind young Americans supporting homosexuality is because of the culture they are growing up in. The older generations in America tend to not be as supportive of gay marriage becasue of the culture that they grew up in. Thsi growing representation and acceptance for gay marriage has had an effect on the younger Christians that are growing up in a world that supports things that go against many of the Christian principles.
Many Christians have since the final result of the case voiced their opinions on the matter. President of Focus on the Family Jim Daly states “Where once our nation produced a robust exchange of ideas, we now see attempts to silence people of faith and those who support traditional marriage”. It has been expressed by many Christians that they are not only offended by the outcome of the case, but that they also feel that their rights have been violated. The Christian belief is that marriage is to be between one man and one woman, and they now feel that that view and rigth has been tainted by the new law. Same-sex marriage violates many of the traditions that Christians take part in, and since America was founded on Godly and Christian values they believe that those beliefs should be held.
Homosexuality has been prominent throughout American history. There have been many ups and downs for the LGBT community and although they are free to marry legally, there are still many battles that they face. Not only does the gay community face battles, but the people who oppose gay marriage face opposition as well. Many people have tried to create a common ground for the gay community and the straights as well, but there are always people that hold to their beliefs no matter the changes in the law.
