Will obergefell be overturned
At a convention for Southern Baptist church members in early June, delegates endorsed legislation calling for a ban on same-sex marriage and urged legislators to support them in this goal.
Although same-sex marriage is currently protected in all 50 states due to the ruling in Obergefell vs. Hodges in 2015, Justice Clarence Thomas has said he would fancy to "reconsider" that verdict if a similar case were ever to before the court again.
He also said he would be open to reconsidering Lawrence vs. Texas which legalized gay sex, and Griswold vs. Connecticut which legalized access to contraception, as these cases were built on similar case statute to Roe vs. Wade, which legalized the right to an abortion nationwide, was overturned in 2022.
Why It Matters
The Southern Baptist church is the U.S.' largest protestant denomination, and their endorsement of political causes has sway with GOP politicians, as they are a consistent Republican-voting base. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is one of the country's most powerful Southern Baptists.
This call to eliminate queer marriage comes amid an existing push from President Donald Trump's administration to remove transgender people
What Happens if Obergefell is Overturned?
The Trump Administration and Project 2025 have a target to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the landmark Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage across the USA.
- How would it get overturned?
- What happens if it is overturned?
Understanding the legal landscape and potential consequences is crucial for same-sex couples navigating an uncertain future.
The Legal Foundation of Same-Sex Marriage
The right for same-sex couples to marry is based on two key Supreme Court cases:
United States v. Windsor (2013)
- Edith Windsor challenged the federal government’s definition of marriage as only between one man and one woman under the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
- Windsor and her wife Thea were legally married in Canada, and New York recognized their marriage. However, Edith was denied the spousal exception to federal estate taxes.
- The Supreme Court ruled in Windsor’s favor, invalidating DOMA and requiring the federal government to recognize any marriage legally performed in a state.
Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)
- The Supreme Court ruled:
“[T]he right to marry is a fundamental right inherent in the
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 unlike. There’s a sense of unease as state and federal lawmakers, as good as several judges, receive steps that could carry the issue back to the Supreme Court, which could undermine or overturn existing and future lgbtq+ marriages and weaken additional anti-discrimination protections.
In its nearly quarter century of universe, the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Commandment has been on the front lines of LGBTQ rights. Its amicus concise in the Obergefell case was instrumental, with Justice Anthony Kennedy citing information from the institute on the number of gay couples raising children as a deciding factor in the landmark decision.
“There were claims that allowing queer couples to marry 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. &
MAP Report: The National Patchwork of Marriage Laws Underneath Obergefell
MEDIA CONTACT:
Rebecca Farmer, Movement Advancement Project
rebecca@lgbtmap.org | 303-578-4600 ext 122
As the Respect for Marriage Act moves through Congress, MAP’s March 2022 report on the landscape of varying state marriage laws around the country is a resource. MAP researchers are available to retort questions and our infographics are available for use.
MAP’s report, Underneath Obergefell, explores the patchwork of marriage laws around the country. The report highlights the evidence that a majority of states still have existing laws on the books that would ban marriage for same-sex couples – even though those laws are currently unenforceable under the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell.If the U.S. Supreme Court were to revisit the Obergefell decision, the ability of same-sex couples to join could again fall to the states, where a majority of states still have in place both bans in the commandment and in state constitutions.
The policy lands
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