A Republican state lawmaker in Michigan, Rep. Josh Schriver, is planning to submit a resolution calling on the US Supreme Court to reverse its 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling that forced all 50 states to recognize homosexual ‘marriage.’
LANSING (LifeSiteNews) -- A Republican state lawmaker in Michigan is planning to submit a resolution calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse its 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling that forced all 50 states to recognize homosexual “marriage.”
Backed by 12 co-sponsors so far, the resolution will “urg[e] the preservation of the sanctity of marriage and constitutional protections that ensure freedom of conscience for all Michigan residents,” according to a press release from Rep. Josh Schriver’s office.
The non-binding resolution would not have any legal force, nor would it begin any legal battle that could eventually put the issue back before the nation’s highest court, but it would add conservative Michigan lawmakers’ voices to the half-dozen other states sending the same message and raising awareness of an issue that, while long since declared “settled” by the establishments of both parties, remains of major concern to Catholics and other Christians and set the stage for battles over transgenderism, surrogacy, and religious freedom.
As a practical matter, overturning Obergefell would not entirely change the status quo for marriage. Ever since former President Joe Biden signed the so-called "Respect for Marriage Act" in December 2023, federal law codifies Obergefell’s denial of states’ ability to recognize only male-female unions as marriage. But reversing the 2015 precedent would clear the way for states to set their own marriage laws again if the "Respect for Marriage Act" is ever repealed.
Three of the current sitting justices – Chief Justice John Roberts and conservatives Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito – dissented from Obergefell. The latter two are considered reliable votes to overturn if the chance arises, given statements both have made in the years since. But it is less certain how Roberts and the Court’s three more recent Republican appointees would rule, given their views of precedent and mixed records on cases important to conservatives.
Social conservatives are likely to have an uphill battle on the issue for the foreseeable future. In July 2024, the Republican Party adopted a dramatically shortened national platform with various changes sought by President Donald Trump. Among them was removing language declaring that “Traditional marriage and family, based on marriage between one man and one woman, is the foundation for a free society” and calling for that understanding to be reflected in law, including with the “reversal” of Obergefell as judicial activism.
