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The Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v Hodges this past June was the culmination of a decades-long effort to make marriage equality the law of the land. This session will address the following questions: How was it that this Court, which has been so unsympathetic to claims of discrimination based on race or gender, found that state laws banning marriage by same-sex couples violated both the due process and equal protection clauses of the U.S. Constitution? How did constitutional law develop to lead to this decision? What does this decision teach us about the nature of marriage, the differences between the law of marriage and social and/or religious customs about marriage and the respective roles of religion and the law regarding marriage? What does this decision portend as to the next areas of struggle for civil rights in general and LGBTQ rights in particular?
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