# The Campaign to Overrule Obergefell
Social conservative organizations and state legislatures have launched a coordinated effort to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. The campaign targets the constitutional reasoning behind the decision rather than marriage equality itself, focusing on whether the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment protects a fundamental right to marry.
Conservative legal groups filed amicus briefs in recent cases challenging aspects of Obergefell's holding. They argue the decision represents judicial overreach and that marriage regulation belongs to individual states. Some state legislators have introduced bills asserting state sovereignty over marriage definitions, though these remain largely symbolic given federal constitutional law.
The effort gained momentum after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization last year. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote separately in Dobbs, questioning whether Obergefell and other Due Process-based rulings were correctly decided. His concurrence cited substantive due process doctrine as problematic, creating a potential roadmap for future challenges.
Legal scholars debate whether the current Court majority would revisit Obergefell. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh have not signaled hostility to the marriage equality right itself, though the addition of Justice Amy Coney Barrett shifted the Court's ideological balance. Any successful challenge would likely require either a direct case presenting the issue or incremental narrowing through decisions addressing related questions.
Practical implications remain uncertain. A ruling striking Obergefell would not automatically invalidate existing same-sex marriages but could return authority to states to define marriage. This would create a patchwork of state laws, potentially affecting benefits, recognition, and legal status across jurisdictional lines.
Opponents argue the campaign threatens fundamental rights protections and