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They want to return to a so-called “natural definition” of marriage as between one man and one woman.
Idaho Republican legislators have introduced a resolution on Tuesday urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 decision that established marriage equality nationwide.
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The measure, House Joint Memorial 1, claims the Supreme Court overstepped its authority by requiring states to recognize same-sex marriages. It also calls for a return to the so-called “natural definition” of marriage as between one man and one woman, a concept supporters insist is rooted in tradition.
Related: Clarence Thomas Ready to Strike Down Marriage Equality Following Dobbs
The non-binding resolution, spearheaded by the State Affairs Committee, asserts that states and not federal courts should decide marriage laws. While the resolution carries no legal weight, its introduction sends a clear signal about the state GOP’s priorities.
“The Idaho Legislature insists on restoring the issue of marriage and enforcement of all laws pertaining to marriage back to the several states and the people,” the resolution reads.
The move comes even as a majority of Americans—including majorities of Democrats and independents and nearly half of Republicans—support marriage equality. A 2024 Gallupsurvey found that 69 percent of Americans favor the legality of same-sex marriages, a figure that has remained consistently high since the Obergefell ruling.
LGBTQ+ advocates and civil rights organizations have denounced the resolution as a blatant attack on equality.
“Extremist attacks have become de rigueur, and LGBTQ+ Americans are right to be concerned about their escalation,” said Sarah Warbelow, the Human Rights Campaign’s vice president for legal affairs. “This cruel action by Idaho Republicans amounts to nothing more than shouting at the wind. A majority of Americans of all political affiliations support marriage equality. Resolutions are not laws, and state legislatures lack the power to dismantle marriage equality. They cannot touch the guaranteed federal protections for same-sex couples under the Respect for Marriage Act.”
The Respect for Marriage Act passed in 2022 and signed by President Joe Biden that December, requires federal recognition of same-sex marriages and provides additional safeguards, even if a future Supreme Court revisits Obergefell.
Idaho’s resolution echoes a growing movement among conservative lawmakers to challenge LGBTQ+ rights at the state level. Across the country, Republican-led legislatures have introduced bills targeting everything from transgender health care to drag performances.
The resolution also aligns with Justice Clarence Thomas’s recent remarks in his concurring opinion in the Dobbs case that overturned Roe v. Wade, which in 2022 called for reconsidering cases like Obergefell as part of a broader critique of substantive due process—the legal principle underpinning marriage equality and other rights, such as access to contraception.
