Same-sex marriage at risk in Pennsylvania without Obergefell
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Pennsylvania is among more than two dozen U.S. states with trigger laws that would limit marriage equality if the Supreme Court overturns its legalization of gay marriage.
Why it matters: On the 10th anniversary of Obergefell v. Hodges, access to marriage equality faces increasing opposition.
Driving the news: Republican lawmakers this year have backed ballot measures to undermine same-sex couples' right to marry.
- Measures seeking to reverse the Obergefell decision have been introduced in Idaho, Michigan, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota, NBC News reported in February.
- In Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas, lawmakers have introduced bills that don't explicitly refer to the 2015 Supreme Court ruling but would create a category called "covenant marriage" for one man and one woman.
The other side: Ballot initiatives have cropped up in Idaho, Nebraska, Virginia and Arizona to let voters decide on marriage equality in 2026 elections — in response to anti-same-sex marriage efforts.
Zoom in: The Pennsylvania House passed a bill last year, sponsored by state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D-Philadelphia), to remove the state's dormant ban on same-sex marriage, but it has languished in a Senate committee.
- Despite a nationwide poll that found same-sex marriage was supported by a majority of voters in every state in 2024, Pennsylvania lawmakers have lacked the political will to remove the ban.
Flashback: State lawmakers enacted the same-sex marriage ban in 1996 under then-Gov. Tom Ridge.
- But Ridge and others who supported the ban have since changed their stances.
By the numbers: 32 states have constitutional and/or legislative bans on marriage equality — currently unenforceable because of the Supreme Court ruling.
- This means about 60% of LGBTQ+ adults live in states where access to marriage equality would change if Obergefell were struck down, according to the Movement Advancement Project.
Context: Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in 2022, in overturning Roe v. Wade, said the court "should reconsider" its opinions protecting same-sex relationships and same-sex marriage.
- Thomas, one of the court's conservative justices, wrote in a concurring opinion that they should revisit other precedents decided under substantive due process to "correct the error."
Zoom out: Later that year, Congress passed the Respect for Marriage Act, which codified the right to same-sex and interracial marriages.
- But the law does not prohibit states from taking steps to ban or restrict same-sex marriage if Obergefell is overturned.