Gay Marriage Is Under Attack

Gay Marriage Is Under Attack

The landmark Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court case that protected gay marriage was decided eleven years ago, on June 26, 2026. Although establishment Republicans don’t question it, Christian conservatives, a crucial part of Trump’s coalition, are working to overturn it.

Lawmakers in at least nine states—Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Michigan—have introduced measures to undermine or undo the federal right to same-sex marriage.[1]

Attempts to roll back marriage equality fall into two categories:

  • “Covenant Marriage” and Privileged Status. Legislators in Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas introduced bills to create a distinct category of marriage limited strictly to one man and one woman, often referred to as a “covenant marriage.” The strategy is to intentionally create inequality in state marriage laws and trigger a legal challenge to take to the U.S. Supreme Court.
  • Reversing Federal Precedent. Lawmakers in Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Michigan proposed resolutions directly urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider or overturn its historic 2015 Obergefell ruling. The Idaho House passed its resolution last year by a vote of 46-24, and the North Dakota House passed its measure 52-40.

While some states attempted to roll back marriage equality protections, voters in California, Colorado, and Hawaii passed state measures to strike down constitutional bans on same-sex marriage.[2]

The Obergefell decision can only be changed if a case comes before the Supreme Court and a majority of Justices vote to overturn the current decision, which appears unlikely. Just as importantly, federal law would continue to require all states to recognize those marriages. The Respect for Marriage Act, passed by Congress and signed into law in 2022, requires the federal government and all states to recognize the marriages of same-sex and interracial couples as long as the marriage was valid in the state where it was performed. Those protections remain in place despite future Supreme Court decisions.[3]

There are currently no active efforts in Minnesota to overturn the right to gay marriage. Organizations such as Outfront Minnesota are very active at the state legislature. However, the actions in other states are deeply disturbing.

It is suggested that the push against transgender rights has become the new front in the gay marriage debate.[4] In 2026, legislation to restrict these rights is being considered in 43 states. There have been 797 proposals targeting transgender rights across healthcare, education, and civil liberties; 63 bills have passed and 664 are active.[5]

Efforts to overturn trans rights in Minnesota are led by federal government actions and state legislative pushes on gender-affirming care bans, transgender athlete prohibitions, and the legal status of conversion therapy. Despite these challenges, Minnesota remains a trans refuge state with core protections still in place.

The fate of legal protections for LGBTQ rights is tied to the fate of democracy, [6] and democracy in the US and elsewhere is under attack.

Updated July 2026.

References

[1] Yurcaba, J. & Sopelsa, B. (2025, February 25). Lawmakers in 9 states propose measures to undermine same-sex marriage rights. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/lawmakers-9-states-propose-measures-undermine-sex-marriage-rights-rcna193743

[2] Ibid.

[3] Stoll, C. (2025, March 3). No state can invalidate your marriage! National Center for LGBTQ Rights. https://www.nclrights.org/no-state-can-invalidate-your-marriage/

[4] Tavernise, S. (2026, June 24). Gay Marriage Is Dividing Republicans, Again. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/24/us/politics/gay-marriage-backlash-republicans-trans-rights.html

[5] Trans Legislation Tracker. (2026). 2026 anti-trans bills tracker. https://translegislation.com/

[6] UCLA School of Law Williams Institute. (2026, July). The Global Threat to LGBTQ Rights. https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/publications/the-global-threat-to-lgbtq-rights/