Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/14pdf/14-556_3204.pdf
Page Number: 12.0

Cite as:  576 U. S. ____ (2015) 

7 

Opinion of the Court 

Rather,  they  worked  deep  transformations  in  its  structure, 
affecting aspects of marriage long viewed by many as essen-
tial.    See  generally  N.  Cott,  Public  Vows;  S.  Coontz,  Mar-
riage; H. Hartog, Man & Wife in America: A History (2000).

These  new  insights  have  strengthened,  not  weakened, 
the institution of marriage.  Indeed, changed understand-
ings of marriage are characteristic of a Nation where new 
dimensions  of  freedom  become  apparent  to  new  genera-
tions,  often  through  perspectives  that  begin  in  pleas  or
protests  and  then  are  considered  in  the  political  sphere 
and the judicial process.

This  dynamic  can  be  seen  in  the  Nation’s  experiences 
with  the  rights  of  gays  and  lesbians.    Until  the  mid-20th 
century,  same-sex  intimacy  long  had  been  condemned  as 
immoral  by  the  state  itself  in  most  Western  nations,  a
belief often embodied in the criminal law.  For this reason, 
among others, many persons did not deem homosexuals to 
have  dignity  in  their  own  distinct  identity.    A  truthful 
declaration  by  same-sex  couples  of  what  was  in  their 
hearts  had  to  remain  unspoken.    Even  when  a  greater 
awareness  of  the  humanity  and  integrity  of  homosexual 
persons  came  in  the  period  after  World  War  II,  the  argu-
ment  that  gays  and  lesbians  had  a  just  claim  to  dignity 
was  in  conflict  with  both  law  and  widespread  social  con-
ventions.  Same-sex  intimacy  remained  a  crime  in  many 
States.  Gays  and  lesbians  were  prohibited  from  most
government  employment,  barred  from  military  service, 
excluded under immigration laws, targeted by police, and 
burdened in their rights to associate.  See Brief for Organ-
ization of American Historians as Amicus Curiae 5–28. 

For much of the 20th century, moreover, homosexuality 
was treated as an illness.  When the American Psychiatric
Association  published  the  first  Diagnostic  and  Statistical 
Manual  of  Mental  Disorders  in  1952,  homosexuality  was 
classified as a mental disorder, a position adhered to until
1973.  See Position Statement on Homosexuality and Civil