Where Obergefell took us in the past decade

By Emily Hawley, Op-ed contributor Wednesday, October 01, 2025Two male groom figurine cake toppers sit atop a same-sex marriage wedding cake with a rainbow flag in background. | Getty Images/YinYangThe family is the fabric of society, and when the definition of marriage is unraveled, society is torn apart. Though the Republican Party at large wants to divorce itself from the marriage issue, the true definition of marriage is worth preserving is not a lost cause in the culture war. When the institution of the family is usurped at its very foundation — marriage between a man and a woman — chaos and disorder ensue. The fight to preserve marriage as God designed it absolutely matters, as a society that values natural marriage will esteem the family and protect and value children.   There is so much at stake. Preserving marriage, therefore, is not a “live and let live” issue where conservatives can throw up their hands in defeat. Instead, it is foundational to civilization itself. The most slippery slope The legalization of same-sex “marriage” through the Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) opinion just one decade ago was the slippery slope that led us off a cliff.  This is not hyperbole because of what has unfolded before our eyes in the 10 short years since the Court essentially said gender in marriage is arbitrary and fabricated a “right” found nowhere in the Constitution and contrary to natural law.   One of the purposes of the law is to be a teacher, guiding people in what they ought to do. As the law is didactic in nature, the wrong lesson on marriage has been taught for a decade. Removing the gender distinction from marriage sends a clear message that gender doesn’t matter, period. The Overton window has now shattered, as things that were once disdained and unheard of are now celebrated and ubiquitous.  A society that blurs the dividing line of gender and rejects truth tragically gives rise to men in women’s sports and lying in hospital beds pretending to have just given birth to their surrogate-procured, motherless baby they intend to “chest feed.” After Obergefell, “love is love” precipitated men in women’s bathrooms, minors medically mutilating their bodies, and children in intentionally motherless or fatherless homes.  Medical organizations, athletic associations, academic institutions, and more peddled the lie that sex can change and have assisted and affirmed countless individuals in going down this evil, destructive path. They not only attempted to normalize this delusion but also publicly shamed anyone who said otherwise to the point of kicking dissenting voices off online speech platforms. Newsflash: It was never just about “love is love” or giving same-sex couples hospital visitation rights. The never-ending LGBT alphabet of perversions will continue to encroach on what is good (the family), pollute innocence (children), and disintegrate the order that remains. Rejecting God’s order quickly devolves into societal ruin, and children are always the first victims and the most affected.  Threat to religious liberty  Legalized same-sex “marriage” not only flips the family and culture on its head, but it also jeopardizes religious liberty. Shortly after Obergefell was decided, legal warfare ensued against those who hold to the true definition of marriage, including against Kim Davis, a Christian and former county clerk in Kentucky.  Davis was jailed, sued, and held personally liable post-Obergefell because she refused to sign her name to “marriage” certificates that violated her Christian beliefs as she awaited a religious accommodation. Her case is now before the Supreme Court.  If the Court agrees to hear this case, Davis v. Ermold, it could topple Obergefell v. Hodges and send the issue of marriage back to the states. If and when this occurs, Christians must stand ready to defend the institution of marriage and not shrink back in leading the culture war to preserve society’s most foundational institution. Instead of condoning destruction and sin, the most loving thing we can do is orient our lives and align the law to God’s design. Worth fighting for  For millennia, strong marriages built lasting civilizations while sexual degeneracy led to civilizational ruin. Marriage does not truly exist outside of what God established — a sacred union between one man and one woman for life — because the state cannot redefine an institution God ordained. Nothing, not the Supreme Court ruling nor a state law, can change that.   Same-sex “marriage” is contrary to the natural order God instituted at creation. Same-sex “marriage” rejects the institution that has been the bedrock of civilization for all of human history. And the so-called “right” to same-sex “marriage” is legal fiction not based in the Constitution.  Where would the next decade under Obergefell take us if the social experiment of definition-less “marriage” remains in place nationwide? I pray that is an answer we will never come to realize.The institution of marriage is good and was initiated by God in the Garden of Eden. On both a personal and societal level, marriage is worth fighting for, for the preservation of Western civilization and the protection of future generations.  Emily Wood Hawley is a staff writer for Liberty Counsel and Liberty Counsel Action. Emily has worked as a political appointee in the Trump White House, a press secretary in the U.S. House of Representatives, and a reporter for The Christian Post. She has a degree journalism from Liberty University and was editor-in-chief of the Liberty Champion newspaper.