On January 26, Cleveland Jewish News published “Looking Back at ‘Bedrock Cases’ of Marriage Rights.” The article focuses on the historical 2015 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges – legalizing same-sex marriage – and earlier cases heard by the High Court that had an impact on the Obergefell decision. Chad Eggspuehler provided commentary to Cleveland Jewish News on these influential cases, including United States v. Windsor, the 2013 decision striking down a provision of the federal Defense of Marriage Act that limited federal marriage recognition and benefits to opposite-sex couples.

“When Windsor was decided, it was not clear that same-sex marriage was going to become the law nationwide,” Chad said. “But there was reason to think that may be where the law was headed someday.”

Commenting on a variety of Supreme Court decisions, Chad noted, “Each of those (cases) are recognizing some sort of constitutional violation from a law that discriminates against gay and lesbian citizens. So when you get to Obergefell v. Hodges, each of those cases is part of the bedrock that the Court looked to in questioning whether the marriage rights that are being sought by the same-sex couples in Obergefell are essentially the same rights enjoyed by straight citizens.”

Read the article on the Cleveland Jewish News website here.