Does a Donald Trump presidency mean an end to same-sex marriage?
Donald Trump is the president-elect of the United States of America. He'll soon be working alongside two chambers of Congress with a Republican majority and an out-and-out homophobe as Trump's right-hand man.
But what does a Trump presidency actually mean for same-sex couples who are currently married and for those who would like to get married?
Trump has not said that he wants to overrule Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court case that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. However, he has said that he plans to appoint Supreme Court justices that would chip away at gains in LGBTQ rights since the June 2015 Obergefell decision.
During an interview with Fox News' Chris Wallace, Wallace asked Trump his feelings on same-sex marriage and the court's decision. Trump said:
It has been ruled up. It has been there. If I'm a, you know, if I'm elected, I would be very strong on putting certain judges on the bench that I think maybe could change things.
Before Obergefell, a lawsuit challenging the case would have to make its way to the Supreme Court. Trump will likely nominate a new Supreme Court justice to replace Antonin Scalia, who dissented in Obergefell. If all justices were to stick with their original ruling, Trump would have to wait for another judge to either die or step down from the bench to nominate a second conservative judge.
If the court were to reverse its earlier ruling, same-sex marriage would be decided on a state-by-state basis. Prior to the Supreme Court's ruling, 37 states and Washington, D.C., legalized same-sex marriage.
While many are worried about same-sex marriage, the reality is that, for LGBTQ Americans, more is at stake. Pence has a long record of showing that he doesn't care about LGBTQ people. Pence passed one of the nation's first religious freedom laws, which stripped LGBTQ citizens in Indiana of their rights. He rejected Obama's transgender bathroom directive and believes in conversion therapy for LGBTQ people.
