Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/14pdf/14-556_3204.pdf
Page Number: 101.0

6 

OBERGEFELL v. HODGES 

ALITO, J., dissenting 

time  to  come.    There  are  those  who  think  that  allow-
ing  same-sex  marriage  will  seriously  undermine  the
institution  of  marriage.    Others  think  that  recogni- 
tion  of  same-sex  marriage  will  fortify  a  now-shaky 
institution. 

“At present, no one—including social scientists, phi-
losophers,  and  historians—can  predict  with  any  cer-
tainty what the long-term ramifications of widespread 
acceptance of same-sex marriage will be.  And judges 
are  certainly  not  equipped  to  make  such  an  assess-
ment.  The Members of this Court have the authority 
and the responsibility to interpret and apply the Con-
stitution.  Thus, if the Constitution contained a provi-
sion  guaranteeing  the  right  to  marry  a  person  of  the 
same  sex,  it  would  be  our  duty  to  enforce  that  right.
But the Constitution simply does not speak to the is-
sue  of  same-sex  marriage.    In  our  system  of  govern-
ment, ultimate sovereignty rests with the people, and 
the people have the right to control their own destiny. 
Any  change  on  a  question  so  fundamental  should  be 
made  by  the  people  through  their  elected  officials.” 
570 U. S., at ___ (dissenting opinion) (slip op., at 8–10)
(citations and footnotes omitted). 

III 
Today’s  decision  usurps  the  constitutional  right  of  the
people  to  decide  whether  to  keep  or  alter  the  traditional 
understanding  of  marriage.    The  decision  will  also  have 
other important consequences.

It will be used to vilify Americans who are unwilling to
assent to the new orthodoxy.  In the course of its opinion,
the  majority  compares  traditional  marriage  laws  to  laws 
that  denied  equal  treatment  for  African-Americans  and 
women.  E.g.,  ante,  at  11–13.    The  implications  of  this
analogy  will  be  exploited  by  those  who  are  determined  to 
stamp out every vestige of dissent.