Plaintiffs, including eleven lesbian and gay couples, one widow, and two teenage children of one of the aforesaid couples, had fundamental right to marry under Due Process Clause of Fourteenth Amendment, and such right was infringed upon by provision of Pennsylvania’s Domestic Relations Code that limited marriage to opposite‑sex couples; such right was personal right to be exercised by individual, and concepts of history and tradition did not dictate that same‑sex marriage was excluded from this right, and such right was not a new right, but was rather right that plaintiffs were always guaranteed by federal Constitution. Provision of Pennsylvania’s Domestic Relations Code that prohibited recognition of same‑sex marriages legally entered into in other jurisdictions violated Due Process Clause of Fourteenth Amendment by robbing those individuals who were already married of their fundamental liberty interest in legal recognition of their marriages.
Laura W. Morgan is the owner and operator at Family Law Consulting in Charlottesville, Virginia. Laura is available for consultation, brief writing and research on family law issues throughout the country. She can be reached through her website: www.
