Keith Mack
The US Constitution does not explicitly mention marriage, and therefore, it is not a power delegated to the federal government to regulate. However, the Supreme Court has interpreted the Constitution to recognize the existence of a fundamental right to marry, which is not expressly stated. This right to marry has been upheld in various cases, such as Loving v. Virginia, where the Court struck down state laws prohibiting interracial marriage, and Zablocki v. Redhail, where the Court invalidated a statute prohibiting individuals from remarrying if they owed overdue child support. Despite this interpretation, some argue that the Supreme Court's creation of a Constitutional right to marriage violates the 10th Amendment, which reserves rights not delegated to the federal government for the states and the people.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Marriage laws | The U.S. Constitution does not explicitly mention marriage or gay marriage, and therefore does not provide a Constitutional right to marriage. |
| The Supreme Court has interpreted the Constitution to recognize a fundamental right to marry, and the UDHR also proclaims this as an inalienable human right. | |
| Interracial marriage | After the American Civil War, many southern states passed anti-miscegenation laws prohibiting interracial marriage. |
| In 1967, the Supreme Court ruled in Loving v. Virginia that Virginia's anti-miscegenation laws violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which protects the freedom to marry a person of another race. | |
| The Fourteenth Amendment requires that the freedom of choice to marry not be restricted by racial discrimination. | |
| Same-sex marriage | The Supreme Court's actions on same-sex marriage have been criticized for ignoring the Tenth Amendment and the rights of the people and states. |
| Religious organizations | Consistent with the First Amendment, religious organizations are not required to provide services for the solemnization or celebration of a marriage. |
| Polygamous marriages | Federal recognition of polygamous marriages is not authorized. |
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What You'll Learn
The Fourteenth Amendment and anti-miscegenation laws
The Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution requires that the freedom of choice to marry not be restricted by invidious racial discrimination. The Fourteenth Amendment protects an individual's right to marry and states that this right cannot be infringed by the State.
In 1883, the U.S. Supreme Court was confronted with a case challenging the constitutionality of an Alabama anti-miscegenation statute in Pace v. Alabama. The challengers argued that Alabama's anti-miscegenation laws violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court held that anti-miscegenation laws did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment because their prohibitions applied to everyone regardless of their race, and thus equally burdened both white people and non-whites alike.
In 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court reviewed the constitution of the Racial Integrity Act in Loving v. Virginia. This time, the Court overturned its previous decision in Pace v. Alabama, holding that Virginia's anti-miscegenation laws did violate the Equal Protection Clause. The Court's decision stated that "There can be no doubt that restricting the freedom to marry solely because of racial classifications violates the central meaning of the Equal Protection Clause."
Following the Loving decision, states could no longer enforce laws against interracial marriage. However, not every state was enthusiastic about the ruling. A clause against interracial marriage remained in the South Carolina State Constitution until 1998, and a similar clause stayed in the Alabama state constitution until 2000.
The Fourteenth Amendment's protection of the right to marry has been interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court as a fundamental interest that necessitates critical examination of governmental restrictions that interfere directly and substantially with this right. This interpretation has been applied in cases such as Zablocki v. Redhail, where the Court struck down a Wisconsin law prohibiting a man from remarrying because he owed overdue child support payments.
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The Supreme Court's interpretation of marriage laws
The US Supreme Court has interpreted the Constitution to recognise the existence of several fundamental rights that are not expressly stated, including an individual's right to marry. This interpretation has been used to strike down laws that restrict a person's right to marry. For example, in Zablocki v. Redhail, the Court struck down a Wisconsin law that prohibited a man from remarrying because he owed overdue child support payments. The Court identified the right to marry as a "fundamental interest" that necessitates critical examination of governmental restrictions that "interfere directly and substantially" with the right.
In another case, the Supreme Court was confronted with a case challenging the constitutionality of an Alabama anti-miscegenation statute in Pace v. Alabama. The challengers argued that Alabama's anti-miscegenation laws, which prohibited interracial marriage, violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution. The Court in Pace held that these laws did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment because their prohibitions applied to everyone, regardless of race, and thus equally burdened both white people and non-whites alike.
However, in 1967, the Supreme Court reviewed the constitution of the Racial Integrity Act in Loving v. Virginia and overturned its previous decision in Pace v. Alabama. The Court held that Virginia's anti-miscegenation laws violated the Equal Protection Clause, stating that "there can be no doubt that restricting the freedom to marry solely because of racial classifications violates the central meaning of the Equal Protection Clause". Following Loving, states could no longer enforce laws against interracial marriage, although some states maintained clauses against interracial marriage in their constitutions until the late 1990s and early 2000s.
More recently, the Supreme Court has also weighed in on the issue of same-sex marriage. In Obergefell v. Hodges, the Court ruled that states must issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and recognise same-sex marriages validly performed in other jurisdictions. This decision was based on the interpretation that the fundamental liberties protected by the Fourteenth Amendment extend to certain personal choices central to individual dignity and autonomy, including intimate choices defining personal identity and beliefs. This ruling established same-sex marriage throughout the United States and its territories, marking a significant shift in the Court's interpretation of marriage laws over time.
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The right to marry as a fundamental interest
The right to marry has been interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court as a fundamental interest, despite not being expressly stated in the Constitution. The Fourteenth Amendment, which states that:
> "All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
Has been interpreted to include the right to marry. This is further supported by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which states that:
> "Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution."
The Supreme Court has ruled on several cases that have upheld the right to marry as a fundamental interest. In Pace v. Alabama, the Court upheld an Alabama anti-miscegenation law, stating that it did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment as it applied to everyone regardless of race. However, in Loving v. Virginia, the Court overturned its previous decision and held that Virginia's anti-miscegenation laws violated the Equal Protection Clause. The Court stated that "marriage is one of the 'basic civil rights of man. Fundamental to our very existence and survival". Following Loving, the Court struck down other laws that restricted the right to marry, such as in Zablocki v. Redhail, where the Court struck down a Wisconsin law prohibiting a man from remarrying because he owed overdue child support payments.
In addition to interpreting the Constitution, the Supreme Court has also looked to international law, such as the UDHR, to support its rulings on the right to marry. The UDHR, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948, proclaims that all humans are entitled to certain fundamental rights, regardless of race, religion, or nationality. The right to marry is included in this list of fundamental rights.
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The Tenth Amendment and states' rights
The Tenth Amendment to the US Constitution states:
> The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
The Tenth Amendment safeguards the principles of federalism, which refers to the division of power between the federal and state governments. It protects states' rights by limiting the federal government's ability to regulate or command state governments to adopt policies or enforce federal laws. The Tenth Amendment also advocates for federalism, which is the division of power between the federal and state governments.
The Tenth Amendment has been interpreted to protect the powers that state governments have traditionally held. For example, in United States v. Windsor, the Supreme Court ruled that state governments are the primary authority to define marriage and its benefits. The Court struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which had denied federal marital benefits to same-sex couples who were legally married in their home states.
In another case, Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court interpreted how state power over marriages can be used constitutionally when it conflicts with a civil right guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment. The Fourteenth Amendment has been used to protect the freedom of individuals to marry a person of another race, as in Loving v. Virginia, where the Supreme Court overturned its previous decision in Pace v. Alabama and held that Virginia's anti-miscegenation laws violated the Equal Protection Clause.
While the Tenth Amendment protects states' rights, it is important to note that it does not provide absolute sovereignty to the states. The Supreme Court has held that states cannot tax or control the operations of constitutional laws enacted by Congress and that Congress cannot "commandeer" state officials to execute federal statutes.
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Same-sex marriage and the Fourteenth Amendment
The Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution has been central to the legal recognition of same-sex marriage in the United States. The Amendment guarantees a range of rights that protect individuals' dignity, autonomy, and personal identity, including intimate choices that define personal beliefs.
In 2015, the Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The ruling determined that gay, transgender, and lesbian couples have the same rights as heterosexual couples under the Fourteenth Amendment. This was a landmark decision, requiring all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and US Insular Areas to perform and recognize same-sex marriages, granting them equal rights and responsibilities as opposite-sex marriages.
The ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges built on a history of legal challenges to marriage laws, including those prohibiting interracial marriages and those concerning the use of contraception. The Supreme Court had previously ruled in 1967 in Loving v. Virginia that Virginia's anti-miscegenation laws violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. This decision overturned the Court's previous ruling in Pace v. Alabama, which had found that Alabama's anti-miscegenation laws did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment as they applied equally to all races.
The Obergefell petitioners argued that Ohio's refusal to recognize marriages from other jurisdictions violated the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantees of due process and equal protection. The Court's ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges affirmed that the Fourteenth Amendment requires states to license marriages between two people of the same sex and to recognize such marriages when lawfully licensed and performed out-of-state. This decision was based on the understanding that marriage is a fundamental right, central to personal identity, dignity, and autonomy, and that state bans on same-sex marriage infringe on these rights.
The Fourteenth Amendment has thus played a crucial role in ensuring that the freedom of choice to marry is not restricted by discrimination, guaranteeing the right to marry to same-sex couples across the United States.
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Frequently asked questions
No, the US Constitution does not mention marriage.
No, the Constitution does not provide citizens with a right to marriage. However, the Supreme Court has interpreted the Constitution to recognise a fundamental right to marry.
The Fourteenth Amendment has been used to argue against state interference in interracial marriages. In 1967, the Supreme Court ruled in Loving v. Virginia that Virginia's anti-miscegenation laws violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
The Tenth Amendment states that powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution are reserved for the states. Some argue that the Supreme Court cannot create a Constitutional right to marriage without first violating the rights of the people under the Tenth Amendment.
The First Amendment states that religious organisations cannot be required to provide services for the solemnisation or celebration of a marriage. Additionally, the Fifth Amendment has been invoked in cases relating to marriage laws, such as Zablocki v. Redhail, which identified the right to marry as a "fundamental interest".
