RESTORED
Obergefell v. Hodges
576 U.S. 644 (2015) · 2015
The right to marry is a personhood right. For 50 years, same-sex couples were invisible to it.
“No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family.”
The Ruling
5–4: The 14th Amendment requires states to license and recognize same-sex marriages.
The Personhood Argument Not Made
Under Roman law, marriage is the union of two legally visible persons — creating a new legal entity with rights, inheritance, decision-making authority, next-of-kin status. Same-sex couples living together were legally invisible: no rights, no joint legal existence, no protection on death or disability. Obergefell is a personhood restoration — the recognition that these persons exist in law, that their union exists, that they have legal visibility.
The Execution Gap Created
Before 2015, gay couples had no legal existence as a unit. One partner's death meant the other had no claim — to property, to children, to medical decisions. It was personhood denial by omission, never requiring a single law explicitly denying rights.
Primary sources & research
Related cases
Part of The Personhood Prism, the companion to The Execution Gap by Thomas William Hornig. See all personhood cases →