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In the U.S. today, there are over 800,000<\/a> married gay couples. And 67%<\/a> of Americans say they support marriage equality, including<\/a> 50% of Republicans.<\/p>\n Despite this, many of the groups that fought to prevent the Obergefell ruling are now ramping up their ongoing fight to overturn it.<\/p>\n If Obergefell were overturned, it could become illegal for gay couples to marry in the 32 states<\/a> that still have bans on the books. As the Supreme Court mulls over<\/a> whether or not to take a case asking them to overturn the historic ruling, we\u2019ve documented every step that has been taken in the past five years to threaten gay marriage in the U.S.<\/p>\n The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) rejects<\/a> a petition to hear former Kentucky County Clerk Kim Davis\u2019 appeal in Ermold v. Davis, a case brought by a same-sex couple after Davis denied them a marriage license in 2015. Justice Clarence Thomas, joined by Justice Samuel Alito, writes<\/a> that the Obergefell ruling has \u201cruinous consequences for religious liberty\u201d and that it \u201cenables courts and governments to brand religious adherents who believe that marriage is between one man and one woman as bigots.\u201d They express their desire to see Obergefell overturned, writing that SCOTUS \u201chas created a problem that only it can fix.\u201d<\/p>\n The following day, Liberty Counsel, a Christian legal group and Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)-designated<\/a> hate group, announces<\/a> their intent to file a petition with the Supreme Court to \u201caddress Obergefell\u201d after Davis\u2019 case moves to a trial court.<\/p>\n Nevada overturns<\/a> an 18-year-old ban on same-sex marriage, making it the first state to enshrine gay couples\u2019 right to marry in their constitution. Nevadans vote 62% in favor of the reversal.<\/p>\n \u201cIt feels good that we let the voters decide,\u201d Equality Nevada President Chris Davin told<\/a> NBC News. \u201cThe people said this, not judges or lawmakers. This was direct democracy\u2014it\u2019s how everything should be,\u201d he said, adding that the LGBTQIA+ community wants something concrete to protect same-sex marriage in case “the federal level ever revokes it\u2014which is what a lot of folks are worried about with the new Supreme Court.\u201d<\/p>\n SCOTUS rules<\/a> in favor of Catholic Social Services (CSS), which sued the city of Philadelphia for ending its foster-care placement contract with CSS because of their refusal to certify same-sex couples as foster parents. The ruling, which states that Philadelphia\u2019s termination of CSS\u2019s contract violates the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment, provides a carve-out to Obergefell.<\/p>\n Roe v. Wade is overturned. In a concurring opinion with the majority, Thomas sets his eyes on Obergefell and Lawrence v. Texas\u2014a ruling that in essence<\/a> legalized gay sex. He writes<\/a> that the Court should reconsider <\/a>those cases since they used similar arguments to Roe v. Wade.<\/p>\n \u201c[W]e should reconsider all of this Court\u2019s substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell. Because any substantive due process decision is \u2018demonstrably erroneous.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Despite Thomas\u2019 opinion, the majority explicitly states that \u201c[n]othing in this opinion should be understood to cast doubt on precedents that do not concern abortion.\u201d<\/p>\n President Joe Biden signs the Respect For Marriage Act<\/a> into law. This solidifies federal and interstate recognition of same-sex marriages even if Obergefell is overturned. The law is a backstop to the attacks on same-sex marriage.<\/p>\n In a response to the passage of the Respect for Marriage Act, SPLC-designated anti-LGBTQIA+ hate group<\/a> Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) says that<\/a> \u201cthe chances of the Supreme Court overturning Obergefell are (unfortunately) slim to none.\u201d<\/p>\n SCOTUS rules<\/a> 6-3 that Colorado cannot force a website designer, who is represented by ADF<\/a>, to create wedding websites for same-sex couples. The Court says doing so would violate the designer\u2019s First Amendment right to free speech because her work is considered creative expression. This decision narrows how public-accommodation laws apply and creates another carve-out for Obergefell to be overturned.<\/p>\n After a court ruling holds Kim Davis liable for damages to gay couples who she refused to sign marriage licenses for, Liberty Counsel discusses<\/a> the potential to appeal the case up to the Supreme Court and use it to argue for Obergefell to be overturned.<\/p>\n The GOP\u2019s national party platform<\/a>, Make America Great Again!, drops<\/a> explicit anti-Obergefell language from its plank. Despite this, the fight to overturn same-sex marriage continues to heat up.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tennessee lawmakers introduce a bill<\/a> that would allow for \u201ccovenant marriages,\u201d an explicitly religious form of marriage license that can only be given to a man and a woman and does not allow for divorce in most circumstances. Covenant marriages already exist in Arizona, Arkansas and Louisiana. Oklahoma<\/a>, Texas<\/a> and Missouri<\/a> have recently introduced similar bills.<\/p>\n Idaho\u2019s House of Representatives passes<\/a> a resolution calling on the Supreme Court to overturn Obergefell. The resolution was drafted by MassResistance<\/a>, a far right group that wrote a book called \u201cThe Health Hazards of Homosexuality\u201d and that has 24 chapters around the world. One of their newest chapters is in Kenya, where the group says it holds trainings<\/a> for youth to \u201cresist the LGBT agenda\u201d in schools<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Idaho resolution would go on to create a domino effect. Lawmakers in Michigan, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota introduce similar measures<\/a> in their states asking SCOTUS to overturn Obergefell.<\/p>\n Republican Rep. Josh Schriver, who introduced the resolution in Michigan, had previously posted to X<\/a>: \u201cMake gay marriage illegal again. This is not remotely controversial, nor extreme.\u201d<\/p>\n At the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), a national meeting<\/a> of more than 10,000 church representatives from America\u2019s largest Protestant denomination, the convention\u2019s resolutions committee introduces a resolution calling on lawmakers and SCOTUS to overturn laws and court rulings, \u201cincluding Obergefell v. Hodges, that defy God\u2019s design for marriage and family.\u201d<\/p>\n SBC delegates overwhelmingly vote in favor<\/a> of a gay marriage ban as well as the reversal of Obergefell.<\/p>\n Liberty Counsel releases a statement<\/a> titled \u201cObergefell \u2018Marriage\u2019 Opinion Must Be Overturned.\u201d The group\u2019s founder and chairman, Mathew Staver, says:<\/p>\n \u201cThe U.S. Constitution provides no foundation for \u2018same-sex marriage.\u2019 Obergefell was wrongly decided whereby the Court created a right that is nowhere to be found in the text. We will petition the U.S. Supreme Court because Kim Davis\u2019 case underscores why the High Court should overturn Obergefell v. Hodges. Obergefell threatens the religious liberty of Americans who believe that marriage is a sacred union between one man and one woman.\u201d<\/p>\n ADF publishes an article<\/a> titled \u201cDespite 10 Years of Obergefell, Kids Still Need a Mother and Father.\u201d The article outwardly condemns gay marriage as bad for children, marking the group\u2019s most explicit statement of opposition to the ruling in years. Weeks later, the group\u2019s vice president of appellate advocacy publishes an essay<\/a> arguing a similar premise.<\/p>\n Kim Davis files<\/a> a petition asking SCOTUS to revisit and overturn Obergefell, saying the case was wrongfully decided. The petition will need just four votes from the justices to be heard by the Court.<\/p>\n On a podcast, Hillary Clinton expresses her concern<\/a> that Obergefell will be overturned:<\/p>\n \u201cAmerican voters, and to some extent the American media, don\u2019t understand how many years the Republicans have been working in order to get us to this point. \u2026 It took 50 years to overturn Roe v. Wade. \u2026 The Supreme Court will hear a case about gay marriage; my prediction is they will do to gay marriage what they did to abortion\u2014they will send it back to the states. \u2026 Anybody in a committed relationship out there in the LGBTQ community, you ought to consider getting married because I don\u2019t think they\u2019ll undo existing marriages, but I fear they will undo the national right.\u201d<\/p>\n In an interview<\/a> with CBS News, conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett argues SCOTUS rulings should not be based on \u201copinion polls\u201d and that the Court should not be imposing its own values on the American people.<\/p>\n In fall 2025, SCOTUS is expected to decide<\/a> whether or not it will revisit Obergefell. If it grants<\/a> a review, oral arguments will likely be heard in spring 2026 with a decision by late June 2026, during Pride Month.<\/p>\n If objective, nonpartisan, rigorous, LGBTQ-focused journalism is important to you, please consider making a tax-deductible donation through our fiscal sponsor, Resource Impact, by clicking this button:<\/em><\/p>\nOct. 5, 2020<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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