Today, June 26, 2025, marks ten years since the United States Supreme Court ruled in favour of legalising same-sex marriage on the federal level in the landmark case Obergefell v. Hodges. 

Prior to the ruling, same-sex marriage was decided on the state level, with 36 states already having marriage equality. This meant that despite being legally married in the state of Maryland in 2013, the case plaintiff Jim Obergefell and his dying husband John Arthur’s union was not legally recognised in Ohio. Because of this situation, when Arthur passed away, he was not recognised as married, and Obergefell was not recognised as his surviving spouse. 

This led Obergefell to file against the state of Ohio, and the case went all the way to the Supreme Court, ultimately granting US citizens marriage equality in all 50 states. In the ten years since the landmark decision, 591,000 same-sex couples have gotten married, according to a UCLA School of Law report. 

While public support for same-sex marriage has increased since 2015, there have been many attacks against LGBTQ+ rights in the United States by the Trump administration, leading many to be concerned about the future status of the ruling. 

Earlier this month, the US Southern Baptist Convention voted to call upon the Supreme Court to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges. The convention’s previous efforts in part led to the court overturning Roe v. Wade, the case that granted a legal right to abortion for 49 years. Many fear that if the court was willing to overturn such a longstanding right, they might be inclined to do the same for one that has only been in place for ten years.

Despite these fears and concerns, there is no current organised and direct threat to the ruling, and even if the Supreme Court were to revisit the federal recognition of same-sex marriage, the 2022 Respect for Marriage Act that was signed into law by former president Joe Biden strengthens the protections of the right. 

Many Americans are choosing to remain hopeful that Obergefell v. Hodges stays in place and are taking today to celebrate ten years of same-sex marriage. 

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