Supreme Court requested to overturn same-sex marriage ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court is set to decide whether to hear a case asking it to overturn its landmark 2015 decision that recognized gay marriage rights.
unbranded – Newsworthy
- Former Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis has appealed to the Supreme Court to overturn the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling that legalized same-sex marriage.
- Legal experts believe the Supreme Court is unlikely to overturn the ruling.
- President Donald Trump’s stance on same-sex marriage has varied over the years, from supporting domestic partnerships to opposing same-sex marriage, and later saying he was “fine” with it.
The U.S. Supreme Court has officially been asked to overturn the 2015 decision that granted equal marriage rights to LGBTQ+ couples.
Kim Davis, a former Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses, filed an appeal on July 24 about the compensation she was ordered to pay to a gay couple she denied a license. She asked the court, which holds a conservative supermajority, to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges.
But legal experts previously told USA TODAY that the court is unlikely to overturn that ruling. Also, President Joe Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act in 2022, which passed through Congress with bipartisan support and requires all states to recognize same-sex and interracial marriages.
Where does Trump stand on same-sex marriage?
The White House did not weigh in on the appeal request or the possibility of the right being taken away. But Trump has given varied stances on same-sex marriage.
Trump expressed support for domestic partnerships in an interview he did with The Advocate in 2000, as reported by CBS News. The signal of support came at a time when many in the GOP did not share such a stance.
Later, in 2011 he said on Fox News he was not “in favor of gay marriage,” and in 2015, he told CNN he supported “traditional marriage.” But days after being elected in 2016 in a “60 Minutes” interview, he said he was “fine” with same-sex marriage, a far cry from the 2016 GOP platform, which critiqued the Supreme Court decision that granted the federal right.
But throughout his first term and re-election campaign, he appointed some people with a history of advocating against same-sex marriage, including Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett, according to GLAAD.
During the 2024 presidential campaign, the GOP’s official platform removed explicit mentions of same-sex marriage, saying only “Republicans will promote a Culture that values the Sanctity of Marriage, the blessings of childhood, the foundational role of families, and supports working parents.”
When asked by NBC News if Trump planned to roll back same-sex marriage, incoming press secretary Karoline Leavitt, said “that was never a campaign promise that he made,” the outlet reported in November 2024.
Trump’s record on LGBTQ+ issues in his second term
Trump has made attacking the transgender community a central part of his second term. His executive orders have aimed to ban transgender people from serving in the military, bar transgender student athletes from competing in women’s sports and limit passports to only recognize someone’s sex assigned at birth.
The Trump administration’s federal budget cuts have also resulted in specialized services for LGBTQ+ youth through 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline being shut down in July.
Also, while he promised to find a way to make in vitro fertilization more accessible, he has yet to release plans.
Appeal to SCOTUS latest in long case following Obergefell v. Hodges
The Supreme Court already declined to take up an appeal in Davis’ case in 2020.
Back in 2015 after the Obergefell ruling, Davis refused to issue marriage licenses for same-sex couples as a county clerk in Kentucky. An evangelical Christian, she argued issuing those licenses would conflict with her religious beliefs, and even served a brief stint in jail for contempt of court.
David Ermold and David Moore, a gay couple who Davis denied licenses, sued over the incident. In 2022, U.S. District Judge David Bunning ruled Davis could not claim her own constitutional right as a defense in violating the rights of others when acting in an official capacity as an elected official. She was ordered to pay $100,000 to the couple in 2023.
Contributing: Maureen Groppe, Zac Anderson, Bart Jansen, Marc Ramirez, Eleanor McCrary, Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA TODAY
Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at kcrowley@gannett.com. Follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky at @kinseycrowley.bsky.social.