The Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) was significant because it:

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Ruled that same-sex marriage is a fundamental right guaranteed by the 14th Amendment. In Obergefell v. Hodges, decided on June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the 14th Amendment requires all states to grant and recognize same-sex marriages. Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the majority, stated that the right to marry is a fundamental liberty "inherent in the liberty of the person" and that same-sex couples "may exercise that right." The decision effectively legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, overturning bans in the 14 states that still prohibited it and representing a landmark moment in the LGBTQ rights movement.

The individual right to bear arms ("Established the right to bear arms as an individual right...") was established in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), a different case. The Affordable Care Act ("Upheld the Affordable Care Act as a valid exercise of...") was upheld in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius (2012) and again in King v. Burwell (2015), but those were separate decisions. Corporate free speech rights ("Declared that corporations have the same free speech rights...") were addressed in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010), another distinct ruling.

The Obergefell decision capped a remarkably rapid shift in American public opinion and law on same-sex marriage. As recently as 1996, Congress had passed the Defense of Marriage Act defining marriage as between one man and one woman, and in 2004, several states passed constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage. By 2015, public opinion polls showed majority support for marriage equality for the first time. The decision demonstrated the capacity of American constitutional law and public attitudes to evolve on fundamental questions of equality and individual rights.

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