{"id":215,"date":"2015-08-04T15:55:12","date_gmt":"2015-08-04T15:55:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bowditch.com\/diversityinclusionma\/?p=215"},"modified":"2020-07-31T13:24:33","modified_gmt":"2020-07-31T13:24:33","slug":"life-after-obergefell-legal-challenges-still-linger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bowditch.com\/diversityinclusionma\/2015\/08\/04\/life-after-obergefell-legal-challenges-still-linger\/","title":{"rendered":"Life After Obergefell \u2013 Legal Challenges Still Linger"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Nearly\u00a0six weeks after the Supreme Court issued its opinion in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/opinions\/14pdf\/14-556_3204.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Obergefell v. Hodges<\/a> on June 26, 2015, we are\u00a0seeing the aftermath of the landmark decision and how certain states are scrambling to undermine the applicability of the decision.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Recall that the Obergefell decision determined that the 14th Amendment requires states to license a marriage between two people of the same sex and to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out-of-state.\u00a0 Even before the decision was issued, conservative states began positioning themselves to avoid implementing the Supreme Court\u2019s anticipated ruling.\u00a0 North Carolina\u2019s House and Senate passed Senate Bill 2, over the veto of its Governor, which allows magistrates and other officials to opt-out of performing marriages for same-sex couples due to a personal, sincerely held, religious objection;\u00a0however, once opted-out, such person cannot perform marriages for any couple for six months.<\/p>\n<p>North Carolina\u2019s bill is representative of the continuing (yet diminishing) battle by opponents to same-sex marriages.\u00a0 Indiana, Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas also have \u201creligious freedom\u201d acts which, effectively, protect discriminating against a person based on their sexual orientation if it conflicts with a person\u2019s religious beliefs.\u00a0 Although, protecting a person\u2019s religious freedoms is certainly proper, each state\u2019s law is drafted differently.\u00a0 The extent to which a person can rely on his or her religious beliefs to discriminate based on a person\u2019s sexual orientation will likely be the next battleground for the same-sex marriage debate.<\/p>\n<p>The debate must also resolve how religious freedom acts operate in the public and the private sectors.\u00a0 For example, what happens if all of the magistrates or other officials simply refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples?\u00a0 The North Carolina law provides that, in such a situation, the State Administrative Office of the Courts will ensure that there is a magistrate available at all times to perform marriages and other official duties.<\/p>\n<p>But what about situations in the private sector?\u00a0 In Colorado, a state that has a law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation, a bakery owner is trying to prevent being forced to serve wedding cakes that will be used in a same-sex marriage reception, relying on the premise that the 1st Amendment protects his freedom of expression.\u00a0 He is currently appealing to the Colorado Court of Appeals.<\/p>\n<p>The needle has definitely moved in favor of protection for same-sex marriages, but\u00a0the Obergefell decision leaves some wiggle room for opponents to contest its application and, although supporters of same-sex marriage may have won a battle, it seems that the war is not over\u2026yet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nearly&nbsp;six weeks after the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Obergefell v. Hodges on June 26, 2015, we are&nbsp;seeing the aftermath of the landmark decision and how certain states are scrambling to undermine the applicability of the decision.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":63,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Life After Obergefell \u2013 Legal Challenges Still Linger - The Case for Inclusion<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bowditch.com\/diversityinclusionma\/2015\/08\/04\/life-after-obergefell-legal-challenges-still-linger\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Life After Obergefell \u2013 Legal Challenges Still Linger - The Case for Inclusion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Nearly&nbsp;six weeks after the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Obergefell v. Hodges on June 26, 2015, we are&nbsp;seeing the aftermath of the landmark decision and how certain states are scrambling to undermine the applicability of the decision.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.bowditch.com\/diversityinclusionma\/2015\/08\/04\/life-after-obergefell-legal-challenges-still-linger\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Case for Inclusion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-08-04T15:55:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-07-31T13:24:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Richard Breed IV\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Richard Breed IV\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bowditch.com\\\/diversityinclusionma\\\/2015\\\/08\\\/04\\\/life-after-obergefell-legal-challenges-still-linger\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bowditch.com\\\/diversityinclusionma\\\/2015\\\/08\\\/04\\\/life-after-obergefell-legal-challenges-still-linger\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Richard Breed IV\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bowditch.com\\\/diversityinclusionma\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/89dfe7d3f8bf4012f860c084074a302c\"},\"headline\":\"Life After Obergefell \u2013 Legal Challenges Still Linger\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-08-04T15:55:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-07-31T13:24:33+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bowditch.com\\\/diversityinclusionma\\\/2015\\\/08\\\/04\\\/life-after-obergefell-legal-challenges-still-linger\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":445,\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bowditch.com\\\/diversityinclusionma\\\/2015\\\/08\\\/04\\\/life-after-obergefell-legal-challenges-still-linger\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bowditch.com\\\/diversityinclusionma\\\/2015\\\/08\\\/04\\\/life-after-obergefell-legal-challenges-still-linger\\\/\",\"name\":\"Life After Obergefell \u2013 Legal Challenges Still Linger - The Case for Inclusion\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bowditch.com\\\/diversityinclusionma\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-08-04T15:55:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-07-31T13:24:33+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bowditch.com\\\/diversityinclusionma\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/89dfe7d3f8bf4012f860c084074a302c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bowditch.com\\\/diversityinclusionma\\\/2015\\\/08\\\/04\\\/life-after-obergefell-legal-challenges-still-linger\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bowditch.com\\\/diversityinclusionma\\\/2015\\\/08\\\/04\\\/life-after-obergefell-legal-challenges-still-linger\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bowditch.com\\\/diversityinclusionma\\\/2015\\\/08\\\/04\\\/life-after-obergefell-legal-challenges-still-linger\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bowditch.com\\\/diversityinclusionma\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Life After Obergefell \u2013 Legal Challenges Still Linger\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bowditch.com\\\/diversityinclusionma\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bowditch.com\\\/diversityinclusionma\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Case for Inclusion\",\"description\":\"News and Legal Analysis on Issues Related to Diversity and Inclusion\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bowditch.com\\\/diversityinclusionma\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bowditch.com\\\/diversityinclusionma\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/89dfe7d3f8bf4012f860c084074a302c\",\"name\":\"Richard Breed IV\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8d36e558319b3c1a2088e3c82d94cb37430c9642df87d5b2042394db789435fd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8d36e558319b3c1a2088e3c82d94cb37430c9642df87d5b2042394db789435fd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8d36e558319b3c1a2088e3c82d94cb37430c9642df87d5b2042394db789435fd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Richard Breed IV\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bowditch.com\\\/diversityinclusionma\\\/author\\\/richard-p-breed-iv\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Life After Obergefell \u2013 Legal Challenges Still Linger - The Case for Inclusion","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.bowditch.com\/diversityinclusionma\/2015\/08\/04\/life-after-obergefell-legal-challenges-still-linger\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Life After Obergefell \u2013 Legal Challenges Still Linger - The Case for Inclusion","og_description":"Nearly&nbsp;six weeks after the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Obergefell v. Hodges on June 26, 2015, we are&nbsp;seeing the aftermath of the landmark decision and how certain states are scrambling to undermine the applicability of the decision.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.bowditch.com\/diversityinclusionma\/2015\/08\/04\/life-after-obergefell-legal-challenges-still-linger\/","og_site_name":"The Case for Inclusion","article_published_time":"2015-08-04T15:55:12+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-07-31T13:24:33+00:00","author":"Richard Breed IV","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Richard Breed IV","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.bowditch.com\/diversityinclusionma\/2015\/08\/04\/life-after-obergefell-legal-challenges-still-linger\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bowditch.com\/diversityinclusionma\/2015\/08\/04\/life-after-obergefell-legal-challenges-still-linger\/"},"author":{"name":"Richard Breed IV","@id":"https:\/\/www.bowditch.com\/diversityinclusionma\/#\/schema\/person\/89dfe7d3f8bf4012f860c084074a302c"},"headline":"Life After Obergefell \u2013 Legal Challenges Still Linger","datePublished":"2015-08-04T15:55:12+00:00","dateModified":"2020-07-31T13:24:33+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bowditch.com\/diversityinclusionma\/2015\/08\/04\/life-after-obergefell-legal-challenges-still-linger\/"},"wordCount":445,"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.bowditch.com\/diversityinclusionma\/2015\/08\/04\/life-after-obergefell-legal-challenges-still-linger\/","url":"https:\/\/www.bowditch.com\/diversityinclusionma\/2015\/08\/04\/life-after-obergefell-legal-challenges-still-linger\/","name":"Life After Obergefell \u2013 Legal Challenges Still Linger - The Case for Inclusion","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bowditch.com\/diversityinclusionma\/#website"},"datePublished":"2015-08-04T15:55:12+00:00","dateModified":"2020-07-31T13:24:33+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bowditch.com\/diversityinclusionma\/#\/schema\/person\/89dfe7d3f8bf4012f860c084074a302c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bowditch.com\/diversityinclusionma\/2015\/08\/04\/life-after-obergefell-legal-challenges-still-linger\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.bowditch.com\/diversityinclusionma\/2015\/08\/04\/life-after-obergefell-legal-challenges-still-linger\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.bowditch.com\/diversityinclusionma\/2015\/08\/04\/life-after-obergefell-legal-challenges-still-linger\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.bowditch.com\/diversityinclusionma\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Life After Obergefell \u2013 Legal Challenges Still Linger"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.bowditch.com\/diversityinclusionma\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.bowditch.com\/diversityinclusionma\/","name":"The Case for Inclusion","description":"News and Legal Analysis on Issues Related to Diversity and Inclusion","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.bowditch.com\/diversityinclusionma\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.bowditch.com\/diversityinclusionma\/#\/schema\/person\/89dfe7d3f8bf4012f860c084074a302c","name":"Richard Breed IV","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8d36e558319b3c1a2088e3c82d94cb37430c9642df87d5b2042394db789435fd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8d36e558319b3c1a2088e3c82d94cb37430c9642df87d5b2042394db789435fd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8d36e558319b3c1a2088e3c82d94cb37430c9642df87d5b2042394db789435fd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Richard Breed IV"},"url":"https:\/\/www.bowditch.com\/diversityinclusionma\/author\/richard-p-breed-iv\/"}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pd7Mpl-3t","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bowditch.com\/diversityinclusionma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bowditch.com\/diversityinclusionma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bowditch.com\/diversityinclusionma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bowditch.com\/diversityinclusionma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/63"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bowditch.com\/diversityinclusionma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=215"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bowditch.com\/diversityinclusionma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bowditch.com\/diversityinclusionma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bowditch.com\/diversityinclusionma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bowditch.com\/diversityinclusionma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}