On Friday (June 26, 2015), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in favor of gay marriage in Obergefell v. Hodges. ReligionLink has multiple source guides for background on marriage equality, including:
- Supreme Court ruling favors gay marriage advocates (July 2013; updated October 2014) — offers a look at which states approve same-sex marriage, an overview of where different religious denominations stand on the issue and a list of gay marriage advocates and opponents.
- Same-sex marriage: A guide to covering the debate (March 2013; updated October 2014) — offers a list of legal experts and regional sources on marriage equality, both opponents and proponents.
This edition of ReligionLink provides resources for reporters covering the decision and its immediate and long-term aftermath.
Background
On the wait for the decision/predictions:
- Read “Maps: What the Supreme Court’s Rulings on Same-Sex Marriage Could Mean” by Danielle Kurtzleben writing for NPR, June 25, 2015.
- Read “Tensions Build as Supreme Court Readies Blockbuster Rulings” by Reuters, as printed on the website of The New York Times, June 21, 2015.
- Read “Parsing the clues ahead of the Supreme Court’s same-sex marriage decision” by Cristian Farias for New York magazine, June 21, 2015.
- Read “Activists prepare for gay marriage decision” by Mark Preston for CNN, June 18, 2015.
On Obergefell v. Hodges:
- Read “Lonely widower takes lead role in landmark gay marriage case” by Richard Wolf of USA Today, published on Religion News Service’s website, April 13, 2015.
- Read “Essential Facts About Supreme Court Same-Sex Marriage Case” by Reuters, as printed on the website of The New York Times, April 28, 2015.
- Read “Supreme Court debates same-sex marriage without mentioning religion — except for 20 seconds from a protester” by Daniel Bennett writing for Religion News Service, April 29, 2015.
Overviews/retrospectives:
- Read or listen to “The Long, Winding Path of Same-Sex Marriage” by Arun Venugopal for WNYC, June 25, 2015.
- Read “Gay Marriage’s Moment” by Frank Bruni of The New York Times, June 20, 2015.
- The Advocate magazine maintains a page of stories, interviews, backgrounders and more on the struggle for marriage equality.
- Out magazine collects news stories, features and more on its page dedicated to marriage equality.
Polls and research:
- A Pew Research Center poll conducted in May 2015 found that 57 percent of Americans — an all-time high — now favor allowing same-sex marriage and 39 percent oppose it.
- Gallup looks at “Religion, Race and Same-Sex Marriage” in a May 1, 2015, essay by Frank Newport that draws on all of Gallup’s resources on the subject.
- See an April 16, 2015, post, “American Views of Gay Marriage Are Divided by Faith and Friendship,” which outlines the findings of three surveys on the subject by LifeWay Research. LifeWay Research is a ministry of LifeWay Christian Resources.
- Also see LifeWay Research’s March 12, 2013, post, “Research: Same-Sex Marriage Is Civil Rights Issue, Americans Say.”
General resources
- SCOTUSblog maintains a page dedicated to marriage equality cases that includes a detailed analysis of Obergefell v. Hodges.
- Freedom to Marry maintains a state-by-state breakdown of marriage equality laws. Currently, 37 states plus the District of Columbia permit same-sex marriage.