A decade later, how Obergefell reshaped marriage, culture and courts

THE Supreme Court 10 years ago, voted to extend the definition of marriage to include same -sex couples, a 5-4 historical decision which changed the course of American history – affecting deep changes in public opinion, as well as seismic cultural changes.

“This freedom can no longer be refused,” wrote the judge of the Supreme Court Anthony Kennedy for the majority. “The court now maintains that same -sex couples can exercise the fundamental right to get married.”

The June 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges The same sex couples guaranteed were guaranteed the same protections and advantages as their heterosexual peers.

However, the decision is not without its detractors. In fact, 10 years after the High Court decision, recent polls show that public opinion on homosexual marriage is more divided than ever.

Gorsuch, on the Roberts side with judges of the Supreme Left Court in the immigration decision

Applicants in the Obergefell c. Hodges were observed outside the Supreme Court in 2015. Ten years later, in 2025, there is still general public support for the decision of the Supreme Court. (Ken Cedeno / Corbis via Getty Images)

Obergefell’s 10 -year birthday also arrives at a tense political time. The White House and the Congress are governed, in January 2025, by a new conservative majority – the progressive touch and at least embraced certain Republican legislators who expressed their interest in challenging the historic decision of the Supreme Court.

It also occurs while the Supreme Court of Major Conservative has adopted important cases involving an LGBTQ +Aduction, gender care and more.

Ten years after the historic decision of the court, here is an overview of the situation.

Public opinion

The national legalization of homosexual marriage has made these unions more visible, increasing the number of Americans with personal ties with couples directly affected by the decision of the Supreme Court.

In fact, the number of married and same sex couples in the United States has more than doubled since 2015, according to data from the Williams Institute at the UCLA law college.

During the decade which followed the historic decision of the Supreme Court to Obergefell, public support for homosexual marriage continued to climb, largely motivated by the support of independent democrats and voters, although the voters of all parties and demographics have increased, according to data from Gallup surveys in the past 10 years.

According to a Gallup survey, nearly 7 out of 10 American voters, or 68% of Americans, said this year.

Supported by popular support, the president of the time, Joe Biden, codified the protections of homosexual marriage at the federal level in 2022 by signing the law on respect for marriage, which forced the federal government to recognize homosexual and interracial marriages carried out in the states where they are legal.

Scotus rules on the prohibition of the State on gender transition “treatments” for minors in the historic case

Hundreds of people participated in the annual DC Pride parade on June 8, 2024. (Astrid Riecken / Washington Post via Getty)

Although the law continues to order states or territories to marry same -sex couples, it forces them to recognize marriages as legitimate, as long as they are valid in the state they have been carried out.

However, this does not mean that these actions were without detractors.

Increase in opposition to the state level and federal

The support of homosexual marriage has dropped in Republicans in recent years, the number of registered republican voters who have declared that homosexual marriage has increased from a majority of 55% in 2021 to only 41% in 2025, according to data compiled by Gallup.

We don’t know exactly what prompted change. However, at least certain republican legislators in the legislatures of states across the country have urged the high court, via symbolic resolutions, to revisit Obergefell and to change the national law to homosexual marriage.

In fact, states legislatures in 2024 presented more than 500 “anti-LBGT” bills, According to aclu. Although few bills have been adopted, supporters of homosexual marriage fear that the counterpouss will improve in LGBTQ + protections – and suggest that this could be an indicator of the future opposition – pre -empty a legal challenge to Obergefell which could, ultimately, return to the Supreme Court.

Some on the left called at the end of trans-inclusion efforts. (Mark Kerrison / In Pictures via Getty Images)

Preceding court, executive actions

Recent decisions of the Supreme Court have given more speculation about how a conservative majority court could rule on homosexual marriage, if it decided to take affairs contesting Obergefell.

The judges sent shock waves through the nation in 2022 when they canceled ROE v. Wade, eliminating constitutional law from abortion. The decision also aroused renewed fears that the high court could review the protections of homosexual marriage.

Judge Clarence Thomas, for his part, explicitly suggested that the court should do so in his competing majority opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson,, The case that overthrew the eggs,, Writing that the court has “the obligation to” correct the “established” error in Obergefell and other similar cases.

“In future cases, we must reconsider all the previous ones of regular procedure of this court … (including) Obergefell,” he added.

President Donald Trump has largely refused to weigh publicly on the issue.

However, he took measures to reverse the share of the Biden era, in particular the signing of a decree on the first day in power declaring that the United States will only recognize “two sexes”, male and female, according to to a copy of the text.

President Donald Trump signs a decree in the oval office of the White House. Trump signed a prescription on his first day in power by declaring that the United States will only recognize the “two sexes”, men and women, which raises concerns of LGBTQ +defenders. (Images Andrew Harnik / Getty)

Following steps

Experts told Fox News Digital that they would not be surprised to see challenges led by the Republicans in Obergefell, some in particular pointing the decision of the Supreme Court earlier this month in United States c. Skrmetti – Another central case in which the high court judges voted 6-3 to respect a law of Tennessee prohibiting certain medical care, such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy, to transgender adolescents of the state.

Skrmetti was one of the most closely watched cases of the mandate of the Supreme Court, and the defenders of LGBTQ + organizations such as ACLU and LAMDA Legal, who pleaded in December in December, cited fears that the decision could serve as a legal pretext for future cases involving LGBTQ + protections – in particular sexual orientation is considered as a “protected class” national.

“I would not be surprised if someone was trying to relax equality of marriage,” said Ethan J. Leib, professor at Fordham Law, at Fox News Digital in an interview following the court’s decision last week.

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Activists for and against Trans rights demonstrate outside the Supreme Court before the start of the oral arguments in the United States v. Skrmetti. The court ruled 6-3 on June 18, 2025 to maintain the law of Tennessee in question, in the event of transgender activists. (Bill Clark / CQ-Roll Call, included via Getty Images)

He noted that the judges who joined John Roberts in majority opinion – Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy CONEY BARRETT – “seemed not to want to decide if trans people are a quasi -suspect classification”.

“I suppose that if they get another case that really concerns transgender adults”, they could be ready to see the “technical differences” between them – which, according to him, could be carved out for judges to distinguish themselves from the other conservatives of the court.

He also noted that Roberts apparently did a lot of trouble to determine what counts as a classification of sex, which could ultimately make the task much more difficult for them to undo the short term Obergefell.

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In the end, Leib said: “I would not be surprised if someone was trying to relax the equality of marriage” and the protections provided under federal law.

“I think I would be surprised if there were five voices for that,” he said by obtaining the majority votes to overthrow Obergefell. “But you know, but I could, I could see a way to count on five.”