Ten years since the Supreme Court endorsed same-sex marriages, is a countermovement emerging?
In a significant development, Kim Davis, the former Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, has filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court, seeking to overturn the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide [1][3][5].
As of August 2025, the Supreme Court has been formally petitioned, and Davis’s lawyer expresses optimism about the Court’s likelihood to take the case. This confidence is based partly on the presence of three conservative justices on the current Court who dissented in Obergefell, including Chief Justice John Roberts, who has criticized the Obergefell decision in the past [2][5].
However, the appeal faces difficult odds. Historically, the Court is reluctant to overturn such a significant precedent without broad consensus. The key question remains whether at least four justices will vote to grant review—and whether five would be willing to overrule Obergefell [1][5].
If the Court were to overturn Obergefell, legal experts note that existing same-sex marriages would remain valid due to the 2022 Respect for Marriage Act, which requires recognition of all legally performed marriages regardless of future rulings [5].
Justice Samuel Alito, another vocal critic of the Obergefell decision, has also endorsed taking another look [6]. The Supreme Court will have an opportunity to reconsider the Obergefell decision if it takes up Davis' appeal.
The political landscape surrounding same-sex marriage has shifted dramatically since the Obergefell decision in 2015. Marriage equality is now the norm, although Republican support has been declining over the past three years [7]. In CNN's presidential exit polls from 2004, just one-quarter of Americans thought same-sex couples should be able to legally marry [8]. Today, close to 70% of Americans approve of same-sex marriage, according to some polls [9].
The fight for marriage equality has been a long and arduous journey. Seventeen years ago, in 2008, California voters banned same-sex marriage in their state [10]. Twenty-nine years ago, in 1996, President Bill Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act, which defined marriage as between a man and a woman [11].
However, progress has been made. Justice Neil Gorsuch, who replaced Justice Antonin Scalia, wrote a more recent landmark decision that extended federal civil rights protections to LGBTQ people [12]. Mary Bonauto, who argued in favor of marriage equality before the Supreme Court, stated that the Obergefell decision changed lives for millions of Americans, allowing them to file taxes together, get health insurance together, and plan for families together [13].
Bonauto sees a correlation between the fight for marriage equality and the current fight for trans rights, and is optimistic [14]. She believes that the momentum gained from the victory in the Obergefell case will continue to push for further progress in the realm of LGBTQ rights.
Meanwhile, Republican pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson found that Republicans are open to the idea that the government should not be in the business of meddling with or punishing people because they are gay or lesbian, but not the entire LGBTQ community [15].
The Supreme Court's decision on Davis' appeal, if it comes, will undoubtedly have significant implications for the LGBTQ community and the broader issue of marriage equality. Stay tuned for updates.
[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/01/us/politics/kim-davis-appeal-same-sex-marriage.html [2] https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/08/01/kim-davis-supreme-court-appeal-same-sex-marriage.html [3] https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/01/politics/kim-davis-supreme-court-appeal-same-sex-marriage.html [4] https://www.npr.org/2025/08/01/kim-davis-supreme-court-appeal-same-sex-marriage.html [5] https://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/kim-davis-supreme-court-appeal-overturn-same-sex-marriage/story?id=9087501 [6] https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/alito-joins-call-revisit-same-sex-marriage-ruling-n1347536 [7] https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/06/27/republican-support-for-same-sex-marriage-has-been-declining-over-the-past-three-years/ [8] https://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/11/02/exitpolls.same.sex.marriage/index.html [9] https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/06/27/record-high-share-of-americans-support-same-sex-marriage/ [10] https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/05/us/politics/05prop8.html [11] https://www.history.com/news/defense-of-marriage-act-clinton-signs-law-banning-same-sex-marriage [12] https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/08/us/politics/gorsuch-transgender-rights.html [13] https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/26/us/politics/same-sex-marriage-obama-supreme-court.html [14] https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/01/us/politics/kim-davis-appeal-same-sex-marriage-bonauto.html [15] https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/27/politics/kristen-soltis-anderson-gop-lgbtq-issues/index.html
The appeal filed by Kim Davis to overturn the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision, which legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, has sparked discussions in the realm of politics, as it could potentially reshape the landscape of general news. If the Supreme Court were to overturn Obergefell, it would have significant implications not only for the LGBTQ community but for war-and-conflicts surrounding rights and equalities. As the political landscape has evolved, awareness and support for marriage equality have increased, signifying a possible challenge for the conservative justices who dissented in Obergefell.
