Is gay marriage in the US at risk?

BERLIN - Ten years after the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling that legalised gay marriage, the justices are being asked to overturn the decision as Republicans seek to reverse LGBTQ+ rights at the state and federal levels.

The top court is expected to convene on Nov.7 to consider a case brought by a former county clerk that seeks to overturn the historic 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision that legalised same-sex marriage nationwide.

Legal challenges to same-sex unions are surfacing across the country as well, with proponents emboldened by President Donald Trump's return to office.

Here's what you need to know.

What's happened since the U.S. legalised gay marriage?

On June 26, 2015, the U.S. became the 17th country in the world to legalise same-sex marriages nationwide, although several states had recognised such unions for years.

In the U.S., more than 774,000 gay and lesbian couples have wed, according to government data.

In 2022, the Respect for Marriage Act was passed with bipartisan support, requiring the U.S. government, all states and territories recognise same-sex marriages.

Most adults in the United States support same-sex marriage, according to a Gallup survey released in May, but support among Republicans plunged 14% since 2022 to 41% this year, while 88% of Democrats are in favour - the largest gap recorded since 1996.

Where is same-sex marriage being challenged and how?

Kim Davis, a former Kentucky county clerk jailed in 2015 for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, petitioned the Supreme Court in July to overturn the Obergefell ruling.

The court will consider the case on November 7.

Earlier this year, Republican lawmakers in Idaho, Michigan, Montana, Oklahoma, North Dakota and South Dakota introduced resolutions urging the Supreme Court to overturn its 2015 ruling as well, although none has cleared both legislative chambers in a state.

In Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas, bills have been introduced that would create "covenant marriages" that are only open to male-female unions.

"What they're doing is sending a signal to Americans that they're interested in weakening same-sex marriage, if not outright getting rid of it," said Paul Collins Jr., a professor of legal studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Southern Baptists, the largest Protestant denomination in the United States, called at an annual meeting of delegates in June for the Obergefell ruling to be overturned.

Could the Supreme Court overturn the 2015 ruling?

Since the 2015 decision, the Supreme Court has shifted right, with conservative judges holding a 6-3 majority.

These justices have ruled in favour of businesses that refuse to provide services for gay and lesbian weddings and parents who want to opt children out of classes with LGBTQ+ storybooks in recent years.

Some campaigners fear the same court that eliminated the right to abortion three years ago could curtail gay marriage.

"I can see an outcome in the Supreme Court that Obergefell gets overturned and the decision as to whether or not to grant marriage licences to same-sex couples goes back to the states," Collins said.

What would happen if 2015's ruling were overturned?

Should the ruling be overturned, gay and lesbian couples would likely no longer be able to marry in the 30 states that still have bans in place but which are now barred from enforcing, such as Montana, Texas and Florida.

However, couples in those states would not in principle lose their marriage licences - one reason why many same-sex couples have rushed to wed since Trump was elected.

Same-sex marriage would still be legal in the 20 states that have codified it, and other states would have to recognise these unions - so long as the 2022 Respect for Marriage Act remains in place.

Democrats are pushing to repeal old state statutes and constitutional amendments that ban same-sex weddings. Last year, California, Colorado and Hawaii passed ballots to codify marriage equality.

This article was updated on Monday Nov. 3, 2025 at 10:20 GMT to include the latest developments.

(Reporting by Enrique Anarte; Editing by Lyndsay Griffiths, Anastasia Moloney, Ayla Jean Yackley and Ellen Wulfhorst.)