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The Obergefell v. Hodges decision followed years of national wrangling over the issue, during which some states moved to protect domestic partnerships or civil unions for same-sex partners and others declared marriage could exist only between one man and one woman.

In plaintiff James Obergefell’s home state of Ohio, voters overwhelmingly approved such an amendment in 2004 — effectively mirroring the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which denied federal recognition of same-sex couples. That laid the political groundwork for the legal challenge that bears his name.

Who are James Obergefell and Rick Hodges?

Obergefell and John Arthur, who brought the initial legal action, were long-time partners living in Cincinnati. They were together for almost two decades when Arthur was diagnosed with ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, in 2011. Obergefell became Arthur’s caregiver as the incurable condition ravaged his health over time.

When in 2013 the Supreme Court struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which denied federal recognition of same-sex marriages, the pair acted quickly to get married. Their union was not allowed in Ohio, so they boarded a plane to Maryland and, because of Arthur’s fragile health, married on the tarmac.

It was when they learned their union would not be listed on Arthur’s death certificate that the legal battle began. They went to court seeking recognition of their marriage on the document and their request was granted by a court. 

Ohio appealed and the case began its way up the ladder to the nation’s high court.

A Democrat, Obergefell made an unsuccessful run for the Ohio House in 2022.

Rick Hodges, a Republican, was director of the Ohio Department of Health from August 2014 to 2017. The department handles death certificates in the state. 

Before being appointed by then-Gov. John Kasich, Hodges served five years in the Ohio House. Acquainted through the court case, he and Obergefell have become friends.

The legal arguments

The lawsuit eventually titled Obergefell v. Hodges argued that marriage is guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment, specifically the due process and equal protection clauses.

The litigation consolidated several lawsuits brought by same-sex couples in Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee who were denied marriage licenses or recognition for their out-of-state marriages and whose cases resulted in conflicting opinions in federal circuit courts.

In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled the right to marry is fundamental, calling it “inherent in the liberty of the person,� and therefore protected by the Constitution. The ruling effectively nullified state-level bans on same-sex marriages, as well as laws declining to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions.

The country’s reaction

Same-sex marriages surged in the immediate wake of the Obergefell decision, as dating couples and those already living as domestic partners flocked to courthouses and those houses of worship that welcomed them to legalize their unions. 

Over the ensuing decade, the number of married same-sex couples has more than doubled to an estimated 823,000, according to June data compiled by the Williams Institute at the University of California Los Angeles School of Law.

Not all Americans supported the change. Standing as a national symbol of opponents was Kim Davis, a then-clerk in Rowan County, Kentucky, who refused to issue marriage licenses on religious grounds. She was briefly jailed, touching off weeks of protests as gay marriage foes around the country praised her defiance.

Davis, a Republican, lost her bid for reelection in 2018. She was ordered to pay thousands in attorney fees incurred by a couple unable to get a license from her office. She appealed in July 2024 in a challenge that seeks to overturn Obergefell.

As he reflects of the decision’s 10th anniversary, Obergefell has worried aloud about the state of LGBTQ+ rights in the country and the possibility that a case could reach the Supreme Court that might overturn the decision bearing his name.

Eight states introduced resolutions this year urging a reversal and the Southern Baptist Convention voted overwhelmingly at its meeting in Dallas this month in favor of banning gay marriage and seeing the Obergefell decision overturned. 

Meanwhile, more than a dozen states moved to strengthen legal protections for same-sex married couples in case Obergefell is ever overturned.

In 2025, about 7 in 10 Americans — 68% — said marriages between same-sex couples should be recognized by the law as valid, up from 60% in May 2015.