Are they trying to overturn gay marriage
At a convention for Southern Baptist church members in early June, delegates endorsed legislation calling for a ban on same-sex marriage and urged legislators to support them in this goal.
Although same-sex marriage is currently protected in all 50 states due to the ruling in Obergefell vs. Hodges in , Justice Clarence Thomas has said he would enjoy to "reconsider" that ruling if a similar case were ever to before the court again.
He also said he would be open to reconsidering Lawrence vs. Texas which legalized gay sex, and Griswold vs. Connecticut which legalized access to contraception, as these cases were built on similar case law to Roe vs. Wade, which legalized the right to an abortion nationwide, was overturned in
Why It Matters
The Southern Baptist church is the U.S.' largest protestant denomination, and their endorsement of political causes has sway with GOP politicians, as they are a consistent Republican-voting base. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is one of the country's most powerful Southern Baptists.
This call to eliminate same-sex marriage comes amid
A decade after the Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision, marriage equality endures risky terrain
Milestones — especially in decades — usually call for celebration. The 10th anniversary of Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court case that made same-sex marriage legal nationwide, is unlike. There’s a sense of unease as state and federal lawmakers, as good as several judges, obtain steps that could convey the issue back to the Supreme Court, which could undermine or overturn existing and future same-sex marriages and weaken additional anti-discrimination protections.
In its nearly quarter century of existence, the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law has been on the front lines of LGBTQ rights. Its amicus brief in the Obergefell case was instrumental, with Justice Anthony Kennedy citing data from the institute on the number of same-sex couples raising children as a deciding factor in the landmark decision.
“There were claims that allowing same-sex couples to marry would somehow devalue or diminish marriage for everyone, including different-sex couples,&r
A decade after the U.S. legalized gay marriage, Jim Obergefell says the brawl isn't over
Over the past several months, Republican lawmakers in at least 10 states have introduced measures aimed at undermining same-sex marriage rights. These measures, many of which were crafted with the support of the anti-marriage equality group MassResistance, seek to ask the Supreme Court to overturn Obergefell.
MassResistance told NBC News that while these proposals deal with backlash and wouldn’t alter policy even if passed, keeping opposition to same-sex marriage in the common eye is a achieve for them. The group said it believes marriage laws should be left to states, and they question the constitutional basis of the 5-to-4 Dobbs ruling.
NBC News reached out to the authors of these state measures, but they either declined an interview or did not respond.
“Marriage is a right, and it shouldn’t depend on where you live,” Obergefell said. “Why is queer marriage any different than interracial marriage or any other marriage?”
Obergefell’s journey to becoming a leader for same-sex marriage rights
Some Republican lawmakers increase calls against gay marriage SCOTUS ruling
Conservative legislators are increasingly speaking out against the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling on same-sex marriage equality.
Idaho legislators began the trend in January when the state House and Senate passed a resolution calling on the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision -- which the court cannot do unless presented with a case on the issue. Some Republican lawmakers in at least four other states enjoy Michigan, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota verb followed suit with calls to the Supreme Court.
In North Dakota, the resolution passed the state Noun with a vote of and is headed to the Senate. In South Dakota, the state’s Residence Judiciary Committee sent the proposal on the 41st Legislative Day –deferring the bill to the last day of a legislative session, when it will no longer be considered, and effectively killing the bill.
In Montana and Michigan, the bills have yet to face legislative scrutiny.
Resolutions have no legal leadership and are not binding law, but instead let legislati