The Constitution itself does not define or restrict "marriage" in a single, uniform provision. Instead, questions about marriage have been shaped by several constitutional provisions and landmark Supreme Court decisions. Here is a concise overview of the key constitutional elements and how they have been interpreted in relation to marriage:

• Due Process and Fundamental Rights
  • The Fourteenth Amendment guarantees that no state shall deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. In Supreme Court jurisprudence, the right to marry has been recognized as a fundamental liberty protected by substantive due process for all individuals, including same-sex couples. This means state laws restricting who may marry are subject to strict scrutiny and must be substantially related to an important governmental objective. [U.S. Constitution Fourteenth Amendment; Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) establishing same-sex marriage as a constitutional right]

• Equal Protection and Substantive Due Process
  • Equal protection analyses have supported marriage rights by requiring equal treatment in the recognition and regulation of marriage. The Court has treated marriage as a fundamental right that cannot be denied on the basis of sex or sexual orientation, among other characteristics, under the Equal Protection and Due Process doctrines. [Loving v. Virginia 1967; Obergefell v. Hodges 2015]

• Federal Legislation on Marriage Recognition
  • In 2022, Congress enacted the Respect for Marriage Act to ensure federal recognition of interracial and same-sex marriages and to curb potential state-level changes that would undermine existing marriages. This statute requires states to recognize marriages that were legally performed in other jurisdictions and preserves federal recognition for such marriages. It does not compel all states to perform marriages, but it protects the status and recognition of marriages across state lines. [Respect for Marriage Act summary]

• Historical context and debates
  • There have been proposed amendments (e.g., the Federal Marriage Amendment) that would define marriage as only the union of a man and a woman and would limit recognition of other forms of partnerships. As of my knowledge cutoff, such amendments have not been ratified and have not become law. The current controlling framework rests on Supreme Court decisions recognizing a broad constitutional right to marry, including for same-sex couples. [Federal Marriage Amendment discussions; historical context]

• Related case law and sources
  • Obergefell v. Hodges (2015): Court held that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry nationwide.

* Loving v. Virginia (1967): Court held interracial marriage is a fundamental right under the Constitution.

* The broader understanding of marriage as a civil right and a matter of personal autonomy has been developed through these decisions and subsequent interpretations.

If you’d like, I can tailor this to a specific jurisdiction (for example, the United States federal framework vs. a particular state’s constitutional or statutory provisions) or summarize how these principles apply to related topics like recognition of marriages performed out of state, civil unions, or the rights and responsibilities that accompany marriage.