American civil rights activist Jim Obergefell has issued a stark warning that the legal right to same-sex marriage in the United States could be undone under Donald Trump’s second administration.
Obergefell, the lead plaintiff in the historic Obergefell v. Hodges case that legalised same-sex marriage across all 50 states in 2015, shared his concerns in an interview with Out Magazine, marking the 10-year anniversary of the ruling.
“Now, I tell my story not just with joy but with fear,” he said. “Fear that this story will be erased, our marriage will be erased, that our right to say ‘I do’ will be erased.
“We have taken some great steps forward, but with every bit of progress in our nation, we take steps back. If we don’t remind people where we’ve been, we’re going to lose it.”
Obergefell explained that neither he nor his late husband intended to become activists—they simply wanted the right to love and be treated with dignity under the law.
“There are millions of people out there fighting [once again] for what’s right, fighting to make the world better,” he said. “And if nothing else, find hope in that.”
Ten Years of Marriage Equality
On 26 June 2015, the Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that state bans on same-sex marriage violated the due process and equal protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. The decision marked a defining moment in LGBTQIA+ rights history and a major milestone for marriage equality in the United States.
However, Obergefell and other advocates fear that progress is being rapidly undone under Trump’s current administration.
Since returning to the White House, Trump has overseen the dismantling of diversity and inclusion initiatives across federal departments, enacted bans on transgender individuals participating in school sports and serving in the military, and restricted access to federally funded healthcare for transgender people of all ages.
In a piece for The Advocate marking the 10th anniversary of the ruling, Obergefell linked current developments to broader trends of authoritarianism and dehumanisation of queer communities globally.
“Yes, the queer community has been through this before,” he wrote. “But in 2025, we are losing, and will continue to lose, the rights we fought hard to achieve.
“Unless we see every marginalised community as part of our family, and until we embrace our full community, we succeed only in aiding those who work to erase all LGBTQIA+ people from society.”
