Bourke v. Beshear

Questions presented

SCOTUS records, cert granted 16 Jan 2015

1. Does a State violate the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment by prohibiting gay men and lesbians from marrying an individual of the same sex?
2. Does a State violate the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment by refusing to recognize legal marriages between individuals of the same sex performed in other jurisdictions?

Opinion summary

Etalia.ai summary of the majority opinion

The case involved a challenge to Kentucky's ban on recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions. The plaintiffs, several same-sex couples legally married elsewhere, argued that the state's refusal to recognize their marriages violated the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, holding that denying recognition to valid out-of-state same-sex marriages was unconstitutional as it treated such couples differently without sufficient justification. This decision followed similar rulings across various states post-United States v. Windsor (2013), which struck down parts of DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) and set precedent for challenging state bans on marriage equality.