Same-Sex Marriage Alert: U.S. Supreme Court Ruling on Birth Certificates

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Supreme Court Rules States May Not Treat Same-Sex Marriage Couples Differently From Others When Issuing Birth Certificates

same-sex marriage supreme courtOn Monday, June 26, 2017, the United States Supreme Court reversed a decision from the Arkansas Supreme Court. The decision that was just overruled by the United States Supreme Court was monumental in that the Supreme Court reaffirmed its 2015 decision, Obergefell v. Hodges, recognizing constitutional rights to same-sex marriage. The Supreme Court ruled that states may not treat married same-sex couples differently from others when issuing birth certificates. The case in question, Pavan v. Smith, concerns an Arkansas law that treated same-sex couples differently than opposite sex-couples.

In Pavan, married lesbian couple had jointly planned their child’s conception by means of an anonymous sperm donor. However, when the parents went to list both moms as parents on the birth certificate, Arkansas state officials would only allow the biological mom to place her name on the certificate. Unfortunately, under Arkansas law, same-sex couples were unable to have a same-sex spouse listed as a parent, whereas an opposite-sex couple could automatically have a non-genetic father listed on the birth certificate. The court ruled this unjust as there was a violation … Read More... “Same-Sex Marriage Alert: U.S. Supreme Court Ruling on Birth Certificates”

Same-Sex Marriages: Should Judges Decline To Perform Same-Sex Marriages?

Judicial Performance of Same-Sex Marriages: Personal Beliefs Must Take a Back-Seat to Impartiality

same-sex marriages ohioEarlier this summer, the Supreme Court held that an individual’s right to marry a person of his or her choice to be a fundamental right under the United States Constitution. This ruling, highly publicized and long-anticipated, sparked expansive debate regarding Same-Sex Marriages across the country as citizens struggled to adapt their personal and professional lives in accordance with the Court’s intent to equally expand the rights of marriage to same-sex couples. Not long after, small businesses engaged in the “wedding industry” – perhaps, most notably a bakery in Colorado – announced that due to personal beliefs, they would not extend their services to same-sex couples that wished to marry. Debate and litigation continues to develop as courts begin to unearth whether the personal beliefs of business owners to essentially engage in discrimination violate the Supreme Court’s holding.

While the media likely anticipated backlash from United States citizens historically entitled to their personal beliefs and motives concerning same-sex marriages, it might not have anticipated the extension of similar concerns all the way to the judicial branch. On August 7, 2015, the Supreme Court of Ohio issued an Read More... “Same-Sex Marriages: Should Judges Decline To Perform Same-Sex Marriages?”