Harvard Law & Policy Review

gay marriage

Gay rights wins small, not big, at the Supreme Court

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By Tom Watts* Today, on the anniversary of Lawrence v. Texas and United States v. Windsor, the Supreme Court declared in Obergefell v. Hodges that states that deny legal recognition to same-sex couples are violating the Constitution. Marriage equality is the law of the land. This is a victory for the gay rights movement, which has been fighting for the right to marry for … [Read more...] about Gay rights wins small, not big, at the Supreme Court

From Windsor to Obergefell: The Struggle for Marriage Equality Continued

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To mark today's oral arguments in the same-sex marriage cases, HLPR online has released a Student Note from Volume 9.2 early! The Note is Tom Watts's From Windsor to Obergefell: The Struggle for Marriage Equality Continued. Tom Watts, a fourth-year JD/MPP at Harvard Law School and Harvard Kennedy School, writes: Prior scholarship has examined the legal history of the gay … [Read more...] about From Windsor to Obergefell: The Struggle for Marriage Equality Continued

Same-sex Marriage Preview IV

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By Tom Watts* This is the fourth and final post in a series of blog posts previewing some of the conceptual questions that may appear in the same-sex marriage oral arguments on Tuesday. Part I is here, Part II is here, and Part III is here. In the previous three posts, I discussed the ways in which the Supreme Court might analyze the validity of the state same-sex … [Read more...] about Same-sex Marriage Preview IV

Same-sex Marriage Preview III

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By Tom Watts* This is the third in a series of blog posts previewing some of the conceptual questions that may appear in the same-sex marriage oral arguments on Tuesday. Part I is here, and Part II is here. In previous posts, I discussed whether same-sex marriage bans classify by sexual orientation. If they do, the next question the Supreme Court must answer is what level of … [Read more...] about Same-sex Marriage Preview III

Same-sex Marriage Preview II

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By Tom Watts* This is the second in a series of blog posts previewing some of the conceptual questions that may appear in the same-sex marriage oral arguments on Tuesday. Part I is here. In the previous post, I discussed the prospect of the Supreme Court deciding that a state same-sex marriage ban was a sexual orientation classification on the face of the law. In this … [Read more...] about Same-sex Marriage Preview II

Same-sex Marriage Preview I

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By Tom Watts* This is the first in a series of blog posts previewing some of the conceptual questions that may come up in the same-sex marriage oral arguments on Tuesday. Part II is here. On Tuesday, we will have the legal equivalent of the Super Bowl, a presidential election, and the finale of Seinfeld at all once: oral argument in Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court’s … [Read more...] about Same-sex Marriage Preview I

A SCOTUS Ruling on Gay Marriage: What’s it Actually Worth?

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By Matthew Skurnik Since the Supreme Court’s June 2013 ruling in United States v. Windsor—holding the federal Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional—gay rights advocates have brought a tidal wave of lawsuits across the country successfully challenging state bans on same-sex marriage. On October 6th of this year, the Supreme Court denied cert in cases from five states, … [Read more...] about A SCOTUS Ruling on Gay Marriage: What’s it Actually Worth?