On April 22, 2014, three same-sex couples and one individual filed this class-action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. Two couples wished to marry in Georgia, one couple sought recognition of their marriage celebrated in Connecticut, and the widow of a couple married in New York sought recognition of that marriage. Represented by Lambda Legal, the plaintiffs filed their lawsuit against the State of Georgia. They sought class certification, injunctive relief, and attorneys fees.

Specifically, the plaintiffs alleged that the Georgia ban on celebration or recognition of same-sex marriage violated their rights under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution, depriving them of due process and equal protection. They argued that the ban passed no level of judicial scrutiny and that it discriminated on the basis of sexual orientation and sex. On August 4, 2014, the plaintiffs filed an Amended Complaint.

The State moved to dismiss the complaint, and the court denied their motion on Jan. 8, 2015. Using rational basis review, the court held that the State did "not address how Georgia’s asserted interests in child welfare and procreation are advanced by the State’s prohibition on same-sex marriages, and the State’s refusal to recognize lawful marriages performed in other States." The court also found that the plaintiffs had presented evidence to the contrary, alleging that same-sex marriage prohibition in fact harms child welfare. 80 F.Supp.3d 1335.

The State moved to stay proceedings pending the resolution of Obergefell v. Hodges in the Supreme Court. The court ordered, on January 29, 2015, that the motion was granted in part and denied in part. It was granted with respect to discovery in this action, but denied with respect to non-discovery pleadings.

On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court in Obergefell held that the right to marry is fundamental, and that it demeans gay and lesbian couples to deprive them of access to marriage. The 14th Amendment therefore does not allow states to ban same-sex marriage.

On October 7, 2015, the court enjoined the defendants from excluding same-sex couples from civil marriage on the same terms and conditions of different-sex couples. The court found that Obergefell was binding precedent and that it required entry of judgment in favor of the plaintiffs. The court enjoined the State from excluding same-sex couples from marriage on the same terms as opposite-sex couples, and from refusing to recognize a lawful same-sex marriage performed in another state on the grounds of that marriage's same-sex character.

The case is now closed.

Megan Dolan - 11/15/2015
Virginia Weeks - 03/09/2018


compress summary