Obergefell v. Hodges / Henry v. Hodges
The landmark case that helped bring equal marriage nationwide.
Henry v. Hodges sought recognition of out-of-state marriages of same-sex couples and their rights as parents to their children. Ohio refuses to even grant accurate birth certificates listing both parents for children born in Ohio to legally married same-sex couples. Ohio’s refusal to recognize legal marriages of same-sex couples from out of state forces the loving, committed couples to name only one parent on a child’s birth certificate. Plaintiffs include four married couples seeking both recognition of their marriages in Ohio as well as, most urgently, an order requiring the State to place the names of both parents on the birth certificates of their babies. Three of the couples conceived using donors and gave birth in Ohio hospitals. The fourth couple are married men living in New York City whose adopted son was born in Ohio.
- February 2014 Lambda Legal joins Al Gerhardstein of Gerhardstein & Branch, in in a suit filed in federal court on behalf of four same-sex couples.
- April 2014 Ohio federal court announces that on April 14, 2014, it will order the state to recognize out-of-state marriages of same-sex couples and issue accurate birth certificates for children born to married same-sex couples.
- May 2014 After appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit consolidates Henry v. Himes with Obergefell v. Himes, another Ohio case, for purposes of submission. Obergefell also seeks recognition of out-of-state marriages in Ohio.
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August 2014 Oral arguments on the consolidated Ohio marriage cases occur, alongside cases from Michigan, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Cases from two of the other states include claims for marriage equality in addition to the recognition of out-of-state marriages, and the Sixth Circuit is expected to rule on both questions.
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November 6, 2014 The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld as constitutional bans on marriage rights for same-sex couples in Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee, becoming the first federal circuit court after the Supreme Court’s watershed 2013 Windsor ruling to uphold such bans and departing from recent decisions from the 4th, 7th, 9th and 10th Circuits.
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November 14, 2014 Lambda Legal, the ACLU and private firm Gerhardstein & Branch filed a petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals’ aberrant ruling upholding discriminatory bans on marriage rights for same-sex couples in Ohio and three other states.
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January 16, 2015 The U. S. Supreme Court grants review of this case, alongside other marriage equality and recognition cases from the 6th Circuit. The high court has set the stage for final resolution of the debate about marriage equality for same-sex couples across the country.
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April 28, 2015 Oral arguments held before the Supreme Court in the combined cases now known as Obergefell v. Hodges. The court considered two questions: Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex? Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex that was legally licensed and performed in another state?
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June 26, 2015 Victory! In a historic decision on the combined cases, the U.S. Supreme Court declared that denying same-sex couples the freedom to marry violates the U.S. Constitution. The Court’s decision invalidates all state statutes and constitutional amendments barring same-sex couples from marriage.
Brief of Amicus Curiae Institute for Justice in Support of Petitioners (03/11/2015)
Brief for Kristin Perry et al. as Amici Curiae in Support of Petitioners (03/11/2015)
Brief of Amici Curiae SAGE, et al (03/11/2015)
Brief of Amici Curiae OutServe et al (03/11/2015)
Brief of Amici Curiae National Women's Law Center, et al (03/11/2015)
Brief of Amicus Curiae Human Rights Watch (03/11/2015)
Brief of Amicus Curiae Howard University School of Law Civil Rights Clinic (03/11/2015)
Brief of Amici Curiae Lawrence Korb et al (03/11/2015)
Brief of the Leadership Conference et al. as Amici Curiae in Support of Petitioners (03/11/2015)
Brief Amici Curiae of the Human Rights Campaign and Petitioners (03/11/2015)
Brief Amicus Curiae of Legal Scholars Stephen Clark et al. in Support of Petitioner (03/11/2015)
Brief of Amici Curiae LGBT Student Organizations in Support of Petitioners (03/11/2015)
Brief of Amicus Curiae the Liberty Education Forum in Support of Petitioners (03/11/2015)
Brief Amici Curiae of Historians of Marriage, et al (03/11/2015)
Brief of Amicus Curiae The Organization of American Historians (03/11/2015)
Brief of Amici Curiae NAACP in Support of Petitioners (03/11/2015)
Brief Amicus Curiae of NFCRC in Support of Petitioners (03/11/2015)
Brief of Prof. W. Burlette Carter (03/11/2015)
Brief of PFLAG as Amicus Curiae in Support of Petitioners (03/11/2015)
Brief of Scholars of the Constitutional Rights of Children in Support of Petitioners (03/11/2015)
Brief of the Religious Society of Friends as Amici Curiae Supporting Petitioners (03/11/2015)
Brief Amici Curiae of GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBT Equality, et al (03/11/2015)
Brief of Amicus Curiae Gary Gates (03/11/2015)
Brief of Amicus Curiae Garden State Equality (03/11/2015)
Brief of the State of Hawaii as Amicus Curiae in Support of Petitioners (03/11/2015)
Brief Amici Curiae of Foreign and Comparative Law Scholars (03/11/2015)
Brief of Amici Curiae Family Law Scholars (03/11/2015)
Brief of the Commonwealth of Virginia as Amicus Curiae in Support of Petitioners (03/11/2015)
Brief Amici Curiae of Family Equality Council et al (03/11/2015)
Brief of Amicus Curiae Experiential Learning Lab at New York University School of Law (03/11/2015)
Brief Amici Curiae of Equality Ohio, Et Al (03/11/2015)
Brief of Amici Curiae Donaldson Adoption Institute, et al (03/11/2015)
Brief of Amici Curiae Douglas Laycock, et al (03/11/2015)
Brief of Amicus Curiae County of Cuyahoga, Ohio (03/11/2015)
Brief Amici Curiae of California Council of Churches et al (03/11/2015)
Brief of Amicus Curiae Constitutional Accountability Center (03/11/2015)
Brief of Amici Curiae Conflict of Law Scholars (03/11/2015)
Brief of Amicus Curiae Columbia University Sexuality and Gender Law Clinic (03/11/2015)
Brief of Amicus Curiae Cleveland Choral Arts Society (03/11/2015)
Brief of Amici Curiae Cato Institute et al (03/11/2015)
Brief Amici Curiae of Carlos Ball et al (03/11/2015)
Brief Amici Curiae of Campaign for Southern Equality and Equality Federation (03/11/2015)
Brief of Amicus Curiae BiLaw (03/11/2015)
Brief Amici Curiae of Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom (03/11/2015)
Brief of Amici Curiae Chris Kluwe, Brendon Ayanbadejo, and Scott Fujita (03/11/2015)
Brief of Amicus Curiae Anti-Defamation League (03/11/2015)
Brief Amicus Curiae Americans United for the Separation of Church and State (03/11/2015)
Brief of Amicus Curiae American Sociological Association (03/11/2015)
Brief of Amicus Curiae American Public Health Association (03/11/2015)
Brief Amici Curiae American Humanist Association and Center for Inquiry (03/10/2015)
Brief of Amicus Curiae American Federation of Labor (03/10/2015)
Brief on behalf of Amicus Curiae American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (03/10/2015)
Brief of Amicus Curiae Alliance: State Advocates for Women's Rights and Gender Equality (03/10/2015)
Brief Amici Curiae of 92 Plaintiffs in Marriage Cases (03/10/2015)
Brief of Amicus Curiae Freedom to Marry (03/10/2015)
Brief Amici Curiae of 226 Mayors (03/10/2015)
Brief of Amicus Curiae Law Enforcement Officers, First Responders, et al (03/10/2015)
Brief of Employers as Amici Curiae Supporting Petitioners (03/9/2015)
Brief of Members of Congress as Amici Curiae Supporting Petitioners (03/9/2015)
Brief for the United States as Amicus Curiae Supporting Petitioners (03/9/2015)
Brief of Amici Curiae Kenneth B. Mehlman et al. Supporting Petitioners (03/6/2015)