Obergefell v Hodges, 2015

Civics 101

NHPR

Society & Culture, Government, History

4.6 • 2.4K Ratings

🗓️ 26 August 2025

⏱️ 33 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This is the decision that said the fundamental right to marry is protected under the 14th Amendment. How did it come about? What was the status of marriage before June of 2015? And why is the government so involved in the marriage business anyways? This episode features the voices of Melissa Wasser from the Project on Government Oversight and Jim Obergefell, the named party in Obergefell v Hodges. CLICK HERE: Visit our website to see all of our episodes, donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free educational materials, and more! To see Civics 101 in book form, check out A User's Guide to Democracy: How America Works by Hannah McCarthy and Nick Capodice, featuring illustrations by Tom Toro. Check out our other weekly NHPR podcast, Outside/In - we think you'll love it! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I've been married twice. The first time I was very young and closeted in part because of all the homophobia and bigotry and stuff like that.
0:09.7	This is Jackie Fulton, a producer here at Civics 101. And this is Fendell Fulton.
0:14.5	I'm Fendell. I am Jackie's other half.
0:18.6	Jackie and Fendell got married at O'Dyorn Point in November of 2018.
0:23.0	I remember when I went with my ex-now ex-husband and we're doing the paperwork and stuff,
0:28.0	and it asked if we were cousins or if we were blood-related.
0:31.7	I thought that was kind of funny.
0:33.5	But it was like super easy to fill out, you know, no problem.
0:38.5	And so whenever Fendell and I went to do the paperwork, it asked who is person A and who is person B.
0:48.4	And I was like, well, how do we know?
0:50.8	Like, I'm like, I guess Fendell could be person eight because they're older than I am.
0:55.2	Yeah, I took the A role.
0:56.9	Jackie took the B role, but that's not indicative of our actual roles in life.
1:04.4	You're listening to Civics 101.
1:06.1	I'm Nick Capadice.
1:07.1	And I'm Jackie Fulton.
1:08.3	And today we're learning about one of the most recent landmark
1:12.0	Supreme Court decisions, so recent it is not yet required in many states as civics curriculum,
1:17.5	though I imagine it will be soon. The decision that made marriage, marriage.
1:23.4	Obergefell v. Hodges, 2015.
1:29.6	A Supreme Court ruling announced minutes ago extends same-sex marriage in America.
1:35.6	The justices rule five to four that states do not.
	...

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