Obergefell’s Prescription: Why the Fourteenth Amendment Trumps State Employees’ Free Exercise Claims

Soon after the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, some elected officials and civil servants objected to the requirement that same-sex couples be offered marriage licenses. In particular, they argued that a government employee whose job duties include issuing marriage licenses cannot be forced to do so if it would violate his or her religion’s dictates. This piece argues that position is unavailing as it ignores the jurisprudence construing the free exercise clause of the First Amendment as well as the mandate created by the Court’s interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment in Obergefell