U.S. Supreme Court Reaffirms Constitutional Protection for Marriage Equality
By Alivia Stonier
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On November 7, 2025, the US Supreme Court officially decided to uphold gay marriage, a decision that hadn't been brought to the court since the 2015 decision Obergefell v. Hodges, which was a landmark for LGBTQ+ equality.
The decision was made during a private session held after Kim Davis, a former county clerk in Kentucky, tried to argue that having to marry same-sex couples was against her First Amendment right due to her personal religious beliefs and desire for religious freedom.
She also tried to argue that the 2015 decision should be overruled, which left a lot of the community shaken, especially given the changes that we have seen in recent years, such as the overruling of Roe v. Wade in 2022.
Much of this fear was not unfounded, as current Justice Clarence Thomas has explicitly said that Obergefell should be revisited.
However, despite fears following the official private session, on November 10, 2025, the Supreme Court issued a brief, unsigned order rejecting Davis’s petition. The court did not explicitly give reasoning, but this is fairly common and means that the 2015 decision will remain intact.
Additionally, the 6th Circuit had already rejected Davis’s argument, and because SCOTUS declined to review, that Sixth Circuit ruling will remain binding as of now.
But why was this case different? Not only did it speak to a different angle than the case Obergefell v. Hodges through the religious reasoning, but also, more than ever in recent years, we are seeing people in power who want to reverse the separation of church and state across the US.
Even though the community is safe, which is a large win for the LGBTQ+ community, if things were to be overturned, there is still the protection through the Respect for Marriage Act, a federal law passed in 2022 that requires states to recognize same-sex and interracial marriages. If it were to be overturned in the future, it would threaten protections for these marriages on a federal level and lead to a state-by-state decision.
According to a report from the Public Religion Research Institute, roughly 27% of Gen Z adults identify as conservative, while 36% say they’re liberal and 34% say they’re moderate. Meaning that we are increasingly seeing a rise in right-wing beliefs across this generation.
Much of this has been caused by extreme political figures flooding the media, such as figures like Charlie Kirk and Red Pill Pipeline podcasts coming to the forefront of young people's algorithms.
Paired with the current economic crisis that Gen Z is facing, with reportedly the worst job market coming in 2026 since the pandemic, all of this has resulted in a rise of what is seen as traditional or conservative across the generation that was previously viewed as more open-minded and outspoken than their Millennial counterparts.
As all of this is happening, it is important to remember the roots of why the 2015 decision of Obergefell v. Hodges is so fundamentally important and that minority groups deserve to be continually supported and heard.
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The road that led to same-sex marriage equality was one that was long and difficult, and can be traced back to the 1970s on a federal level. 1971 saw the first case brought to the courts in Minnesota with Baker v. Nelson, in which they decided that gay marriage was not a federal issue for the courts to decide.
This dismissal from the courts hurt the community nearly two decades, and it wasn't until the late 90s, when marriage became a federal issue for heterosexual couples with the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996 being passed by Congress, that the community had a leg to stand on when it came to allowing LGBTQ+ couples to have those same protections after the 1971 decision would place them in a standstill.
The early 2000s would begin to see changes being made on the state level to make these protections happen, with major cases spanning from 2003 to 2015, meaning that by the time the federal decision was officially made, 36 states had already recognized gay marriage. That did not come without pushback, as 14 states had outlawed gay marriage altogether, causing the federal decision to be a major turning point.
It can be easy for members of Gen Z, who have seen gay marriage legalized for the majority of their lives, to forget that this was such a long and strenuous fight for those of the community that came before this current generation.
This speaks to not only the immense progress that has been able to be made over the past couple of decades, where people can be proud of who they are and the identity that they hold. But less of this is being seen as the months move forward, given the pushback against DEI initiatives, even through small indicators like seeing less of a Pride collection available at large retailers during Pride Month.
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As the current political landscape continues to shift, especially in such a major way compared to that of previous decades, it's important to remember the weight behind decisions like this and how easily, unfortunately, the things that have become normalized within our culture can be ripped away.
Pride Month as a whole exists as it does today because of the protests during the 1969 Stonewall riots.
The Stonewall Inn in New York City was a known gathering place for the community. In the early hours of June 28, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn. At this time, police were known for giving the community a lot of harassment on top of the discrimination that was already being faced from the rest of the world.
As a result, this raid sparked a series of protests and clashes with the police. These events are widely considered a turning point for the LGBTQ rights movement.
In the year following the riots, the first Pride marches were held in New York City, and they were a way for the community to stand up for their rights and to celebrate their identity. Over time, these marches evolved into the month-long celebration now known as Pride Month.
Now is the time to stay aware and advocate for what you believe deserves to be protected, as they had to in decades past. As many people are growing fatigued with the dark times that we are facing as a society, it can be easy to turn an eye and instead try to focus on more positive things. It is crucial to remain educated, as coming together to fight for what is right is one of the only things that can protect the overall desires of the people.
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Source: A Political and Cultural Glimpse into America’s Future
