Same-sex marriage in Georgia (U.S. state)
Same-sex marriage was legalized in the U.S. state of Georgia on June 26, 2015, by the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in the case of "Obergefell v. Hodges". Attorney General Sam Olens said Georgia would "adhere to the ruling of the Court". The first couple wed just minutes after the ruling was handed down. Previously, Georgia banned same-sex marriage both by statute and by constitutional amendment. Recognition of same-sex unions. Same-sex marriage has been recognized in Georgia since June 26, 2015, when the Supreme Court of the United  States declared all same-sex marriage bans unconstitutional in "Obergefell v. Hodges". All Georgia counties began immediately (or were either willing to) issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Prior to the "Obergefell" decision, there was no state-level legal recognition of same-sex marriages, such having been prohibited by Georgia Constitutional Amendment 1 in 2004. A few municipal entities, such as Atlanta, maintained a domestic partnerships registry for city employees who were in both same-sex and opposite-sex cohabiting couples. Federal Lawsuits. Section::::"Inniss v. Aderhold". On April 22, 2014, three same-sex couples and a widow filed a  lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia on behalf of themselves and all unmarried same-sex Georgia couples and all Georgia residents who have married same-sex spouses in other jurisdictions. They later added another couple. Two of the four couples had married in other states, Connecticut and New Hampshire. The suit, "Inniss v. Aderhold", named Deborah Aderhold, State Registrar and Director of Vital Records, as the principal defendant. District Court Judge William S. Duffey Jr. was considering the defendants' motion to dismiss. Defendants argued for an extension to file their briefs because of the volatility  of cases around the country. Judge Duffey granted an extension to October 22, 2014. On January 8, 2015, Judge Duffey denied the defendants' motion to dismiss. He found that the plaintiffs were asserting they had a fundamental right to marry a person of the same sex, which is not a right protected by the Due Process Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Since a fundamental right was not at issue, he explained he would assess Georgia's ban under the least restrictive standard of review, rational basis. He denied the motion because the state defendants had not yet met the rational  basis standard by explaining the link between Georgia's ban on same-sex marriage and the state's interest in "child welfare and procreation". On January 20, 2015, the defendants asked Judge Duffey to suspend proceedings until the U.S. Supreme Court rules in pending same-sex marriage cases, and the plaintiffs supported that request on January 27. On January 29, the court suspended some proceedings, but allowed the parties to appeal his earlier order to the Eleventh Circuit, so that court would have a wider set of arguments to consider along with the Florida case, "Brenner v. Scott". Politics. The  case was the subject of dispute in the 2014 re-election campaign of Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens, who was defending the state's position, and his opponent Greg Hecht, who advocated not defending the state's ban on marriage rights for same-sex couples. Olens was re-elected. Public opinion. According to the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI), in 2015 and 2016, respectively, 45% and 51% of Georgia residents supported same-sex marriage. Others polls, notably one conducted by "The Atlanta Journal-Constitution" in 2013, have shown that Millennials overwhelmingly support same-sex marriage, while those above 65 are  mostly opposed. In 2017, the PRRI found that 52% of Georgians supported same-sex marriage, while 39% opposed it and 9% didn’t know.