Will supreme court rule on gay marriage today
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 deliver the issue support 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 Rule has been on the front lines of LGBTQ rights. Its amicus concise in the Obergefell case was instrumental, with Justice Anthony Kennedy citing facts 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 queer couples to wed would somehow devalue or diminish marriage for everyone, including different-sex couples,” said Brad Sears, a distinguished senior scholar of law and policy at the Williams Institute. &
Skip to main content
More from the National Constitution Center
Constitution 101
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Discover primary texts and historical documents that span American history and have shaped the American constitutional tradition.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 write goes here.
Email Share
Link copied to clipboard!
Ooops. Link couldn't be copied to clipboard!
The Supreme Court could overturn its landmark 2015 judgment that established a nationwide right to same-sex marriage if a case addressing the matter is brought before it, experts told Newsweek.
Why It Matters
Last month, Idaho lawmakers approved a resolution that called for the Court to undo its Obergefell v. Hodges decision that declared a constitutional right for same-sex couples to marry.
After President Donald Trump appointed three conservative justices to the Court in his first term, cementing a 6-3 conservative supermajority, the Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 stripping away the constitutional right to an abortion. Since then, there have been concerns that the Court's conservative justices could complete away with other rights, including the right to same-sex marriage.
Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, two conservative justices who dissented in Obergefell v. Hodges, contain suggested that the conclusion should be reconsidered.
What To Know
Gallup polling shows that a majority of Americans continue to believe marriage between same-sex couples should be legal (69 percent), though support has declined slightly from the log high of 71 percent recorded in 2022 and
Some Republican lawmakers increase calls against gay marriage SCOTUS ruling
Conservative legislators are increasingly speaking out against the Supreme Court’s landmark 2015 ruling on same-sex marriage equality.
Idaho legislators began the trend in January when the state House and Senate passed a resolution calling on the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision -- which the court cannot do unless presented with a case on the issue. Some Republican lawmakers in at least four other states like Michigan, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota have followed suit with calls to the Supreme Court.
In North Dakota, the resolution passed the express House with a vote of 52-40 and is headed to the Senate. In South Dakota, the state’s House Judiciary Committee sent the proposal on the 41st Legislative Night –deferring the bill to the final day 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 tackle legislative scrutiny.
Resolutions have no legal authority and are not binding law, but instead allow legislative bodies to express their collective opinions.
The resolutions in four other states ech
'We don't know what the future will hold': Homosexual couples concerned about the future of marriage equality
Ten years ago, Gideon Levinson and Jacob Rosenblum each wondered if their future would ever include creature able to marry a same-sex partner.
Now, they're planning their wedding together.
It's achievable because of the Supreme Court's monumental 2015 choice in Obergefell v. Hodges which legalized same-sex marriage in the U.S.
"That decision really just made me realize that I could just have a monotonous, normal marriage and animation, which is kind of all I'd ever wanted," said Levinson.
Thursday marks 10 years since that Supreme Court ruling.
Since that choice, a recent Gallup poll shows overall support for same-sex marriage has grown, with 68% of Americans now supporting it — up from 58% in 2015.
But the divide between Democrats and Republicans has widened over the past three years. Just four in ten Republicans utter marriages between same-sex couples should be recognized by the law with the same rights as traditional marriages.
"There's a temporary partisan divide, but that happens so often as the pendulum begins to swing to and from equality," said Jonathan L