USA VS WindsorThe United States VS Windsor is a civil rights case that the restriction of marriage to only include heterosexuals was unconstitutional under the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. Edith Windsor and Thea Spyer were a same-sex couple living in New York who were married in Canada in 2007, and had the marriage recognised in the beginning of 2008 in New York. Spyer died in 2009 and left her estate to Windsor, however when Windsor sought to claim the estate she was barred from doing so because of Section 3 of the Defence of Marriage Act. Section 3 recognise the term 'spouse' to be used when speaking of a marriage between a man and a woman. Windsors claim was denied and so she had to pay over $350000 in estate taxes. In the following year she filed a law suit against the federal government requesting a refund because the law singled her out as a spouse in a legal same sex marriage. It was found in 2012 that Section 3 was unconstitutional and the government were ordered to issue the tax refund to Windsor with interest.
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Obergefell VS KasichObergefell VS Kasich was a United States Supreme Court case which gave same sex couples the fundamental right to marry by the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Jim Obergefell and John Arthur were married in Maryland in 2013 but after hearing that Ohio, their place of residence would not recognise their marriage they filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. They filed the lawsuit on the premise that the state discriminated against same sex couples who were legally married out of state. Arthur was terminally ill with ALS and so Obergefell wanted to be recognised as his surviving spouse on his partners death certificate. The judge granted that the Ohio Registrar must accept the death certificate with the marital status as "married" and that Obergefell's name is registered as his surviving spouse. John Arthur passed in October and the judge ruled that Ohio's refusal to recognise same-sex marriages from out of state was discriminatory and ordered them to recognise Obergefell as Arthur's surviving spouse.
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Obergefell VS HodgesObergefell VS Hodges was the culmination of 6 different lawsuits over four different US states (Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee) that on June 26th 2015, the US Supreme court made the decision that under the Fourteenth Amendment, all states were required to grant same-sex marriages and recognise same-sex marriages that have been granted in other states. Obergefell spoke publically on the day the ruling was announced saying "Today's ruling from the Supreme Court affirms what millions across the country already know to be true in our hearts: that our love is equal" Thousands of businesses and companies also shared in the joy of the ruling and modified their logos on social media to include the rainbow colours associated with the LGBT community. The White House was illuminated with the gay pride colours on the evening of the ruling, with President Barack Obama calling it "a victory for America"
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