The US Supreme Court ruled today that all states must recognize same-sex marriages.
The justices, in a 5-4 decision, held that “The Fourteenth Amendment requires a State to license a marriage between two people of the same sex and to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out-of-State.”
Following today’s ruling that legalizes gay marriage in all states, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal said, “While I believe that this issue should be decided by the states and by legislatures, not the federal judiciary, I also believe in the rule of law. The state of Georgia is subject to the laws of the United States, and we will follow them.”
In 2004, Georgia banned same-sex marriage with an amendment to the state constitution making it unconstitutional for the state to recognize or perform same-sex marriages or civil unions. That referendum was approved by 76% of Georgia voters.
The text of the amendment states:
(a) This state shall recognize as marriage only the union of man and woman. Marriages between persons of the same sex are prohibited in this state.
(b) No union between persons of the same sex shall be recognized by this state as entitled to the benefits of marriage. This state shall not give effect to any public act, record, or judicial proceeding of any other state or jurisdiction respecting a relationship between persons of the same sex that is treated as a marriage under the laws of such other state or jurisdiction. The courts of this state shall have no jurisdiction to grant a divorce or separate maintenance with respect to any such relationship or otherwise to consider or rule on any of the parties’ respective rights arising as a result of or in connection with such relationship.
Today’s supreme court ruling, based in the 14th Amendment’s due process and equal protection clauses, says Georgia’s constitutional amendment is in conflict with the US Constitution. When that happens the federal ruling trumps the state law.
