Though same-sex marriage has been legal across the nation since the Supreme’s Courts landmark ruling with Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015, LGBTQ+ people still fear a potential overturn of the ruling, especially following the overturn of Roe v. Wade in 2022, which made it legal for states to ban abortion, and limit reproductive rights. What’s more, Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito have signaled that they would be open to reversing the same-sex marriage ruling.
Mary Bonauto, who defended same-sex couples during the Obergefell case and now serves as civil rights project director at GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders or GLAD, dismissed the threat, according to NBC News.
“I understand that there are things about these times that introduce a lot of uncertainty in people’s lives. I understand that. But right now, and certainly for the foreseeable future, marriage equality is not one of the things that would change.”
Luckily, there are plenty of protections for gay marriage including Biden’s Respect for Marriage Act, passed in 2022 to codify federal protections for interracial and same-sex marriages. Individual states have also enshrined these rights into state constitutions in recent years, building a strong defense against a potential overturn. LGBTQ+ Americans, however, aren’t convinced that the government and Supreme Court lacks the gall to go ahead and strip them of their rights anyway.
