The Idaho House of Representatives has passed a resolution urging the US Supreme Court to overturn its landmark 2015 decision legalising same-sex marriage nationwide, though the measure received slightly less support than a similar proposal last year.
House Joint Memorial 17 passed on Tuesday with a 44–26 vote, according to the Idaho Statesman. The measure was introduced by Republican state representative Tony Wisniewski and calls on the Supreme Court to reverse its decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, the ruling that established a constitutional right for same-sex couples to marry across the United States.
The resolution argues that the Obergefell decision is “at odds with the Constitution of the United States and the principles upon which the United States is established.”
Lawmakers backing the proposal claim the ruling relied on an interpretation of liberty that the nation’s founders would not have recognised. The measure also criticises the Court’s use of the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause to recognise new rights, describing it as a “dangerous fiction”.
Slightly Less Republican Support
The resolution is identical to a similar measure passed by the Idaho House in 2025. However, this year it received three fewer Republican votes.
Seventeen Republican lawmakers joined Democrats in opposing the resolution.
Among them were Republican representatives Dori Healey and Mike Pohanka, both of whom supported the earlier measure last year but voted against it this time.
Grayson Stone — currently serving as a temporary replacement for Republican representative Don Hall — also voted against the proposal. Stone recently announced plans to run for Hall’s seat permanently.
Religious Debate During Vote
Stone reportedly acknowledged that voting against the resolution could harm his political prospects but said he opposed the measure on religious grounds.
“This entire argument is rooted in the Bible,” he said, according to the Statesman.
He pointed out that biblical teachings cover many aspects of life, including rules about grooming, and questioned why some passages are applied selectively in political debates.
“I just don’t understand why we have to apply the Bible to specific aspects of our life, but not all of it,” he said.
Pohanka said his personal beliefs about same-sex marriage have not changed since his previous vote, but argued that revisiting the issue again would only cause unnecessary harm.
“I thought we advanced [the measure] last year,” he said. “This year, to me, it’s just going to cause hurt and pain and I don’t want to do that.”
Healey declined to comment on the vote.
Next Steps in the Legislature
The measure now moves to the Idaho Senate, which declined to consider a similar resolution in 2025.
Even if the Senate approves the request, it would not force the US Supreme Court to revisit the issue. Legislative memorials like this simply express the opinion of a state legislature.
Supreme Court Context
While the Court has not indicated plans to reconsider the Obergefell ruling, some conservative justices have previously expressed interest in revisiting the decision.
Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito have both suggested the Court should reconsider earlier rulings recognising same-sex marriage.
However, the Court declined to hear a case challenging Obergefell last November. Justice Amy Coney Barrett has also suggested the ruling is unlikely to be overturned, noting that marriage equality is now deeply tied to numerous legal rights, including medical decision-making, financial protections and family law.
