Which Supreme Court case guaranteed the right to marry to same-sex couples under the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses?

• A. Roe v. Wade (1973)
• B. Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)
• C. Loving v. Virginia (1967)
• D. United States v. Nixon (1974)

Answer: (B)

The main idea is how the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment protect the right to marry for all people, including same-sex couples. In Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court held that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry nationwide, and that states may not refuse to license or recognize those marriages. The decision rests on treating marriage as a fundamental liberty protected by due process, and it reasons that denying this right to same-sex couples impermissibly discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation, violating equal protection. This builds on the line of reasoning from earlier cases that recognized marriage as a fundamental right, such as Loving v. Virginia, which struck down bans on interracial marriage, though Loving focused on race rather than sexual orientation. Roe v. Wade, by contrast, concerns abortion rights, and United States v. Nixon concerns presidential power — neither addresses the right to marry. Obergefell is the case that specifically extends marriage rights to same-sex couples under these constitutional protections.