Today marks the 10th anniversary of the 2015 Obergefell opinion that invented a so-called “right” to same-sex marriage, and momentum is building to see this case overturned.

On this day in 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court passed the infamous Obergefell vs. Hodges case that legalized same-sex “marriage” in the United States. Ever since that day, the 5-4 decision divided both the Supreme Court and the nation on whether or not a right to same-sex marriage exists in the Constitution or, much like the controversial abortion issue, is a matter best left up to the states.

Dissenting strongly in Obergefell, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote: “Five lawyers have closed the debate and enacted their own vision of marriage as a matter of constitutional law. The majority’s decision is an act of will, not legal judgment. The right it announces has no basis in the Constitution or this Court’s precedent.”

Justice Samuel Alito echoed these sentiments in his dissent when he wrote, “To prevent five unelected Justices from imposing their personal vision of liberty upon the American people, the Court has [previously] held that ‘liberty’ under the Due Process Clause should be understood to protect only those rights that are ‘deeply rooted in this Nation’s history and tradition.’ And it is beyond dispute that the right to same-sex marriage is not among those rights.”

The issue continues to rage in the courts, and in the public square, with new efforts underway to see the controversial ruling overturned.

According to Liberty Counsel, a. non-profit Christian law firm, one case that could pose a significant challenge to Obergefell is that of former Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis, a Christian, who became the first victim of this disastrous opinion. Davis was sent to prison for six days for refusing to issue marriage licenses while waiting for a religious accommodation.

In Davis v. Ermold, Liberty Counsel is petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court to review Davis’ case, arguing that she should not have been held personally liable for not issuing a “marriage” license to David Ermold and David Moore. After the Obergefell opinion, Davis discontinued issuing all marriage licenses but referred same-sex couples to clerks who would issue them. She never blocked any person from obtaining a marriage license.

However, she became Obergefell’s first victim serving six days in jail, and now has a $100,000 jury verdict levied against her personally. Adding to that amount, the judge tacked on $260,000 in attorney’s fees and costs, for a total of $360,000.

While the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals denied Davis’ request to overturn the jury verdict, the appeals court noted that this is a case of “first impression,” meaning that Davis presents a novel or unique question of law which the courts have not settled.

As Liberty Council states, "By taking the case, SCOTUS can do two things, the Council says; affirm religious freedom for all people, and correct the Obergefell mistake by overruling the 2015 opinion. In this way, SCOTUS can return the religious and governmental institution of marriage back to the states in similar fashion as it did when it found no right to an abortion in the Constitution in the 2022 Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade."

In addition to this case, the drive to overturn the decision has recently gained momentum in five states - Idaho, Michigan, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota.- where non-binding resolutions urging the Supreme Court to overturn the decision have been introduced.

On the religious front, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), the nation’s largest Protestant denomination representing roughly 13 million evangelical Christians, adopted a resolution earlier this month calling for the overturning of laws and court rulings, including Obergefell, that “defy God’s design for marriage and family.”

Even though the SBC has long opposed marriage beyond one man and one woman, this is the first time its representatives have formally committed to reverse the ruling in their pursuit of laws that align with their moral values. The resolution seeks to capitalize on the success of overturning Roe v. Wade with a return to sound constitutional interpretation and will mobilize its tens of thousands of member churches to work toward this goal.

The Catholic Church in the US has never stopped fighting to overturn this case. Ten years ago, on the day the law was passed, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a prophetic statement that has already proven true in the case of Roe v. Wade.

“Regardless of what a narrow majority of the Supreme Court may declare at this moment in history, the nature of the human person and marriage remains unchanged and unchangeable. Just as Roe v. Wade did not settle the question of abortion over forty years ago, Obergefell v. Hodges does not settle the question of marriage today. Neither decision is rooted in the truth, and as a result, both will eventually fail.”

Roe fell on June 24, 2022, the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Let us pray that on this day, the 10th anniversary of the establishment of same-sex marriage, which happens to fall on the eve of the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart, that Obergefell will soon experience the same fate.

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