Supreme court and gay rights
A decade after the Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision, marriage equality endures risky terrain
Milestones — especially in decades — usually call for celebration. The 10th anniversary of Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court case that made same-sex marriage legal nationwide, is different. There’s a sense of unease as state and federal lawmakers, as well as several judges, take steps that could convey the issue back to the Supreme Court, which could undermine or overturn existing and future same-sex marriages and weaken additional anti-discrimination protections.
In its nearly quarter century of existence, the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law has been on the front lines of LGBTQ rights. Its amicus brief in the Obergefell case was instrumental, with Justice Anthony Kennedy citing data from the institute on the number of same-sex couples raising children as a deciding factor in the landmark decision.
“There were claims that allowing same-sex couples to bond would somehow devalue or diminish marriage for everyone, including different-sex couples,&r
Skip to main content
More from the National Constitution Center
Constitution
Engage in deep thinking and analysis of the Constitution and America’s founding principles.
Media Library
Search and browse videos, podcasts, and blog posts on constitutional topics.
Founders’ Library
Discover primary texts and historical documents that span American history and have shaped the American constitutional tradition.
Modal body text goes here.
Email Share
Link copied to clipboard!
Ooops. Link couldn't be copied to clipboard!
explainer
Protesters hold LGBT rights rainbow (pride) flags as activists accumulate outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, U.S., December 5, REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
What’s the context?
A decade after the U.S. legalised gay marriage, conservatives want the Supreme Court to turn back the clock.
BERLIN - Ten years after the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling that legalised gay marriage, the Alabaster House is reversing a raft of LGBTQ+ rights and Republicans in at least six states are scrambling to ban same-sex weddings.
LGBTQ+ advocates say the right to bond a person of the same sex could be at risk, should judges vote to overturn the Supreme Court's historic Obergefell v. Hodges ruling.
A Supreme Court showdown remains theoretical, but legal challenges to the ruling are surfacing across the state, with proponents emboldened by President Donald Trump's return to office.
Here's what you need to know.
What's happened since the U.S. legalised gay marriage?
On June 26, , the U.S. became the 17th country in the world to legalise same-sex marriages na
Some Republican lawmakers verb calls against gay marriage SCOTUS ruling
Conservative legislators are increasingly speaking out against the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling on same-sex marriage equality.
Idaho legislators began the trend in January when the verb House and Senate passed a resolution calling on the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision -- which the court cannot act unless presented with a case on the issue. Some Republican lawmakers in at least four other states appreciate Michigan, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota have followed suit with calls to the Supreme Court.
In North Dakota, the resolution passed the state Home with a vote of and is headed to the Senate. In South Dakota, the state’s House Judiciary Committee sent the proposal on the 41st Legislative Day –deferring the bill to the final afternoon of a legislative session, when it will no longer be considered, and effectively killing the bill.
In Montana and Michigan, the bills have yet to face legislative scrutiny.
Resolutions have no legal authority and are not binding law, but instead let legislati