Clinton: SCOTUS Could Undo Gay Marriage

By: Paul Goldberg, Senior Editor | JRL CHARTS – LGBT Politics

Clinton Sounds the Alarm on Marriage Equality

WASHINGTON D.C — (August 19, 2025) — Former Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton issued a stark warning this week, saying the Supreme Court is poised to gut nationwide marriage equality just as it overturned Roe v. Wade.

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Speaking on the podcast Raging Moderates with Jessica Tarlov and Scott Galloway, Clinton urged same-sex couples to secure their marriages now.

“Anybody in a committed relationship out there in the LGBTQ community, you ought to consider getting married… I don’t think they’ll undo existing marriages, but I fear they will undo the national right,” she cautioned.

Clinton pointed to the decades-long conservative strategy to dismantle progressive precedents:

“It took 50 years to overturn Roe. The Supreme Court will hear a case about gay marriage; my prediction is they will send it back to the states.”

The Case That Could Trigger a Rollback

In July, Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who infamously refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in 2015, formally asked the high court to revisit its landmark Obergefell v. Hodges ruling. The decision marked its 10th anniversary this year, but the justices have yet to announce if they will take up the case.

Conservative Justices Have Already Shown Their Hand

Several justices — particularly Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito — have long opposed Obergefell.

Clarence Thomas has repeatedly argued that same-sex marriage is not “deeply rooted in the Nation’s history and tradition” and called for reconsidering Obergefell after the court dismantled Roe v. Wade.

Samuel Alito blasted the ruling as an “act of will, not legal judgment”, warning it could marginalize people of faith and create “serious questions about religious liberty.”
Chief Justice John Roberts, though less vocal since, also dissented in 2015, stressing the ruling had “no basis in the Constitution.”

The dissenting voices now dominate a 6-3 conservative supermajority, leaving LGBTQ advocates deeply concerned.

Financial & Legal Chaos if Obergefell Falls

If Obergefell is overturned, federal protections in the Respect for Marriage Act (2022) would force states and the federal government to recognize existing marriages — but state “zombie laws” banning marriage equality would immediately spring back to life.

That means:

Tax Filing Confusion: Married LGBTQ couples in hostile states could face contradictory treatment at the state and federal level.
Inheritance & Property Battles: Without uniform recognition, surviving spouses could be stripped of inheritance rights.
Adoption & Parental Rights Jeopardized: State-level bans could complicate or block LGBTQ parents’ rights to adopt or retain parental status.

For millions of LGBTQ families, the rollback would unleash financial, emotional, and legal chaos.

Why This Fight Isn’t Over

Clinton’s warning echoes the LGBTQ community’s deepest fears: a Supreme Court willing to erase decades of progress in one ruling.

If marriage equality is returned to the states, over half the country would revert to bans — erasing hard-won rights and igniting a new civil rights battle.

Stay with JRL CHARTS LGBT Politics for breaking updates on marriage equality, LGBTQ rights, and the Supreme Court’s looming decisions.

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