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Post-Roe marriage equality threat highlighted in congressional hearing

Justice Clarence Thomas supports revisiting Obergefell decision

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4 years ago

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Marriage equality activists on July 14, 2022, testified during a congressional hearing about the threats to same-sex marriage after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Marriage equality advocates during a congressional hearing Thursday raised fears that the right for same-sex couples to marry could be in peril in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

LGBTQ activists delivered testimony before the House Judiciary Committee in a hearing titled, “What’s Next: The Threat to Individual Freedoms in a Post-Roe World,” putting the rights for same-sex couples to marry on par with abortion rights targeted by social conservatives in a 50-year effort.

Jim Obergefell, who was the lead plaintiff of the Obergefell v. Hodges decision that led the Supreme Court to rule in favor of marriage equality nationwide in 2015, gave deeply personal testimony about his efforts in securing state recognition of his marriage to his late spouse, who died of Lou Gehrig’s disease, as he made the plea to keep protection in courts.

“No couple, no family, should be forced to go to great financial expense and legal effort to gain a pale approximation of the rights and protections that come automatically with marriage,” Obergefell said. “That is not marriage, and it sets our relationships and families apart as something less worthy.”

The hearing was wide-ranging in the issues seen at play in the aftermath of the Dobbs decision, including marriage, contraception and intimacy for same-sex couples, which were called into question after Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in a concurrence decision that granting those rights should be reevaluated. Americans United for Life CEO Catherine Glenn Foster made news when she said a 10-year-old who was impregnated by rape should be forced to carry the child to full term.

Also delivering testimony before the committee was Human Rights Campaign Legal Director Sarah Warbelow, who envisioned an end to Lawrence v. Texas, the 2003 Supreme Court decision that struck down anti-sodomy laws, as a precursor to the end to marriage equality.

“To put it squarely, if Lawrence were overturned a marriage certificate could be evidence of a crime,” Warbelow said. “Today, nearly a dozen states retain laws criminalizing same-sex sexual relationships, and 35 states still have laws or constitutional amendments on the books that bar same-sex couples from marrying.”

Fears the Lawrence decision could be in danger were stoked by remarks from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who said when asked during a media interview about having to defend his state’s laws against contraception, marriage or sodomy that he had a duty to defend them.

One pointed exchange during the hearing took place between Warbelow and U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who asked her about whether it was more likely a lesbian women would be impregnated by sexual assault and want an abortion or a same-sex couple to seek to adopt a child.

It would make no sense, Gaetz said in a dubious argument, for same-sex couples to support abortion because many seek to adopt.

Warbelow had none of it.

“It may not be more likely, but it’s an important interest someone who needs access to abortion care be able to access it,” she said.

As part of the questioning, Gaetz also asked whether the definition of a bisexual woman is someone who would pursue sexual relationships with both men and women, but Warberlow said that was not the case. Gaetz’s response was part of an exchange that went out on social media.

Gaetz himself tweeted out the video, commenting it was a “truly remarkable” attempt to redefine bisexuality.

The Florida Republican concluded his testimony by asking to Warbelow to verify that no state legislatures has introduced legislation, or even conducted a hearing, on the idea of rescinding same-sex marriage in the aftermath of the Dobbs decision. Warbelow started to deny that account and say the time after Dobbs has been brief.

No serious effort is currently underway in any state seeking to roll back marriage rights for same-sex couples. The last such challenge was in 2020 and from the solicitor general of Indiana, who was seeking to challenge the decision on the basis of birth certificates for the children of women in same-sex marriages.

Even the current 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court declined to hear the case.

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Congress

HRC president campaigns for Chris Pappas in NH

Gay congressman running to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen

Published

3 days ago

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August 31, 2026

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Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson, left, campaigns with U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) in Manchester, N.H., on Aug. 30, 2026. (Photo courtesy of the Human Rights Campaign)

Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson on Sunday campaigned for U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) in New Hampshire.

Robinson traveled to Manchester, the state’s largest city, nine days before the Sept. 8 primary that will determine who will vie for retiring U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.)’s seat.

Former U.S. Sen. John E. Sununu, who represented New Hampshire in the U.S. Senate from 2003-2009, will face off against former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, who represented Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate from 2010-2013, in the Republican primary.

Karishma Manzur is among the Democrats challenging Pappas.

A poll the University of New Hampshire Survey Center released on Aug. 26 shows Sununu is ahead of Brown. The same survey shows Pappas ahead of Manzur and his other Democratic challengers.

The UNH Survey Center poll shows Sununu ahead of Pappas by a 45-43 percent margin if they were to face off in the general election. The margin of error is +/-2.1 percent.

Pappas would become the first openly gay man elected to the U.S. Senate if he were to win in November.

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Congress

Chris Van Hollen says the Democratic Party needs change. Is he the one to lead it?

Senator is backing anti-establishment Democrats across the country

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1 week ago

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August 26, 2026

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By LEE O. SANDERLIN | The Democratic Party is having something of an identity crisis — losing to President Donald Trump twice in three elections will do that.

Should the party embrace anti-establishment figures who espouse progressive policy ideas like Medicare for all and rhetoric about unrigging the economy for the 1 percent? Or should Democrats try to appeal to moderates who want to return to semi-normalcy in a time of political upheaval?

Although he’s been in Congress since 2002, with key leadership roles throughout his tenure, Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, 67, counts himself firmly in the anti-establishment camp.

The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.

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Congress

House blocks effort to codify transgender servicemember ban into law

Lawmakers approved two anti-trans NDAA amendments

Published

1 month ago

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July 22, 2026

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The Pentagon (Photo by icholakov/Bigstock)

The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday rejected an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would have codified a ban transgender servicemembers in the military.

The bipartisan vote was 212-217.

The NDAA is for the 2027 fiscal year and sets policies for the Defense Department programs and activities and the national security programs of the Department of Energy.

U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) proposed the amendment on July 21. It stated that all personnel are required to serve in accordance with their biological sex, citing military readiness and discipline.

Human Rights Campaign Senior Director of Government Affairs Jennifer Pike Bailey stated that she is grateful for the bipartisan vote that rejected President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s “dangerous and discriminatory policy that has kicked brave transgender servicemembers out of the military and weakened our national security.”

“Everyone who meets the same rigorous standards should be able to serve their country. We should honor that patriotism, particularly in this moment where we are witnessing brave servicemembers making the ultimate sacrifice for our country, instead of ending their careers and politicizing their existence. We’re grateful that a permanent extension of this ban failed, and we will keep fighting to reverse this senseless policy,” Bailey said.

Mark Takano, chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, stated that he and his members put in countless hours of work to kill the amendment.

“When Americans know they or their families are going to be targeted by or not supported by the military, that leads them to avoid signing up to serve or staying in the service — making it harder to keep the ranks of the armed services full and our nation safe. My colleagues in the Equality Caucus and I will continue working to prevent these attacks on our servicemembers and their families from becoming law,” Takano said.

According to the Congressional Equality Caucus, two other bills could potentially be passed that would also target the transgender community, both of which were proposed by U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.).

The first was a bill that would have prohibited gender-related medical care under TRICARE and to prevent TRICARE from covering certain gender-related medical procedures and treatments, which was approved in a vote of 219-208.

The second was a bill that would have prohibited male participation in female sports at DoDEA schools. DoDEA schools are Department of Defense Dependents Schools, which is a network of primary and secondary schools.

The amendment was approved in a vote of 221-203. 

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