Supreme Court Considers Same-Sex Marriage

same sex marriage

On January 6, 2015, the right to marry took effect, allowing same-sex couples in Florida to get married.

On April 28, 2015, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the freedom to marry. The decision is expected from the Supreme Court in June 2015, and will determine whether the U.S. Constitution requires states to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, and whether the U.S. Constitution requires states to respect marriage licenses that same-sex couples have been issued in other states.

Many of the questions the U.S. Supreme Court Justices posed, centered on the definition of marriage and whether the decision to authorize same-sex marriages should be left to the voters in each individual state or decided by the judicial system. Marriage has been defined as a union between a man and a woman for a long time. However, less than 50 years ago, interracial couples could not marry. The Supreme Court changed that in 1967 in the landmark case Loving v. Virginia, when the Court ruled that state bans on interracial marriage were unconstitutional.

Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote, “Under our Constitution, the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual, and cannot be infringed by the State.” We will have to wait until June to see if the current U.S. Supreme Court Justices come to the same conclusion regarding same-sex couples.

If you need representation in any divorce or family law issue please contact The Wheelock Law Firm in Dr. Phillips, Orlando, Florida at 407-648-5742 to schedule a free initial consultation.