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Page Number: 19

14 

OBERGEFELL v. HODGES 

Opinion of the Court 

projects.  Yet it is an association for as noble a purpose
as any involved in our prior decisions. ”  Id., at 486. 

And  in  Turner,  the  Court  again  acknowledged  the  inti-
mate association protected by this right, holding prisoners
could not be denied the right to marry because their com-
mitted  relationships  satisfied  the  basic  reasons  why  mar-
riage is a fundamental right.  See 482 U. S., at 95–96.  The 
right  to  marry  thus  dignifies  couples  who  “wish  to  define 
themselves by their commitment to each other.”  Windsor, 
supra,  at  ___  (slip  op.,  at  14).    Marriage  responds  to  the
universal  fear  that  a  lonely  person  might  call  out  only  to
find no one there.  It offers the hope of companionship and
understanding  and  assurance  that  while  both  still  live 
there will be someone to care for the other. 

As  this  Court  held  in  Lawrence,  same-sex  couples  have
the  same  right  as  opposite-sex  couples  to  enjoy  intimate 
association.  Lawrence  invalidated  laws  that  made  same-
sex  intimacy  a  criminal  act.    And  it  acknowledged  that
“[w]hen  sexuality  finds  overt  expression  in  intimate  con-
duct  with  another  person,  the  conduct  can  be  but  one
element  in  a  personal  bond  that  is  more  enduring.”    539 
U. S., at 567.  But while Lawrence confirmed a dimension 
of  freedom  that  allows  individuals  to  engage  in  intimate 
association  without  criminal  liability,  it  does  not  follow 
that freedom stops there.  Outlaw to outcast may be a step 
forward, but it does not achieve the full promise of liberty. 
A third basis for protecting the right to marry is that it
safeguards children and families and thus draws meaning 
from  related  rights  of  childrearing,  procreation,  and  edu-
cation.  See  Pierce  v.  Society  of  Sisters,  268  U. S.  510 
(1925); Meyer, 262 U. S., at 399.  The Court has recognized 
these  connections  by  describing  the  varied  rights  as  a 
unified whole: “[T]he right to ‘marry, establish a home and
bring up children’ is a central part of the liberty protected
by  the  Due  Process  Clause.”  Zablocki,  434  U. S.,  at  384