Landmark 2015 Supreme Court case in which the justices ruled that gay couples have a constitutional right to marry. The decision, handed down on June 26th 2015, made same-sex marriage the law of the land across America. Mary Bonauto was the lawyer who successfully argued the case.
The first legal same-sex marriage in America had taken place in 2004 at city hall in Cambridge, Massachusetts. At the time most Americans opposed gay marriage—polls showed nearly twice as many against as in favour. President George W. Bush condemned it, as did Democratic politicians. But public support swelled in the years that followed.
A decade after the ruling, survey data points to a reversal of the trend of rising support. According to the General Social Survey, support among Democrats grew modestly between 2018 and 2025, from 77% to 80%, while Republican support fell sharply from 58% to 45% over the same period. Analysis by The Economist showed that demographic change within the Republican Party alone cannot explain the magnitude of the decline; the rate at which support has fallen far outpaces the rate of compositional change.
One theory is that the debate over the medical treatment of trans children and opposition to the participation of trans girls in girls' sports has complicated public attitudes towards gay rights. In a YouGov/Economist survey, two-thirds of respondents who said they believed trans rights had gone too far also opposed gay marriage.
Only Justice Clarence Thomas has suggested he would overturn Obergefell. Bonauto argues the decision is protected by precedent "lifting up liberty, equality and association" rights. But challenges continue: Republican lawmakers have introduced resolutions urging the Supreme Court to reverse the ruling in Michigan, Idaho, Montana and elsewhere. In 2025 the Southern Baptist Convention, America's largest Protestant denomination, also called for Obergefell's overthrow. In some states Republicans are advancing "covenant" marriage bills that would create a separate category of unions restricted to heterosexual couples.
In Mahmoud v Taylor (2025), Justice Samuel Alito recognised the right of religious parents to take their children out of LGBTQ-inclusive school classes, departing from previous rulings that permitted school practices that only incidentally burden religious practice.
Youth is when you blame all your troubles on your parents; maturity is when you learn that everything is the fault of the younger generation.