Orion Yorksmith, 1, rides on the shoulders of his mom, Pam Yorksmith, in the 2015 Cincinnati Pride Parade. Pam Yorksmith was a plaintiff in the Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court case that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.
Marc Solomon

The U.S. Supreme Court has denied review of a long-shot petition that asked the justices to revisit the landmark 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision, which affirmed the freedom to marry for same-sex couples nationwide.

That move is perfectly in line with where we are as a country – and the outcome that most Americans, including people across the political spectrum, wanted to see happen.

Over the past few months, there has been significant worry about what the Supreme Court would do with the petition from Kim Davis, a former Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue same-sex marriage licenses despite the 2015 ruling. That worry speaks to how important the freedom to marry has become – for LGBTQ+ people, their children and extended families, and for society at large.

Supreme Court made the right call on Kim Davis' petition

The freedom to marry has been the law of the land for 10 years (and in a state like Massachusetts for more than 20), and it’s deeply ingrained in our culture.

Millions of people nationwide have seen its positive impact, from the more than 823,000 same-sex couples who are currently married to their extended families who helped them celebrate, to the businesses that no longer have to contend with different rules for different states.

Hundreds of thousands of children are being raised by same-sex couples, and marriage has allowed them critical, tangible protections – plus the intangible dignity of knowing that their family is respected by their country’s government.

There’s been a mountain of research and evidence that marriage has helped millions, while harming no one. A massive 2024 report from RAND collated that research and tracked marriage’s many positive outcomes, including for children, health, financial well-being and relationship stability.

The researchers thoughtfully examined opponents’ theories about whether marriage equality has harmed the institution of marriage, but they found “no empirical basis for concerns that allowing same-sex couples to marry has negatively affected different-sex couples and families.”

I believe that the Supreme Court justices have seen these positive impacts of marriage equality, and that’s at least in part why they did not grant review of the case on Nov. 10.

Just look at what Justice Amy Coney Barrett said in October when asked about Obergefell. She said marriage generates “concrete reliance interests,” in terms of legal, financial and medical interests.

Reliance interests, Barrett said, “are things that would be upset or undone if a decision is undone."

Revisiting Obergefell would be needlessly disruptive to so many families, and to the systems that are central to our governments and economy.

Support for same-sex marriage crosses political, religious divides

As an advocate, strategist and author, my work has centered on the freedom to marry for much of my career. In that time, it has been gratifying to see support for marriage equality grow exponentially, from 33% of Americans saying they supported marriage for same-sex couples in 2003 to 71% in 2023.

Support cuts across nearly every demographic group, including Republicans (56% support in a 2025 poll conducted by three Republican polling firms) and nearly every major faith tradition (more than 60% of American Catholics and a majority of Mormons). There is majority support in every single state.

Of course, these changes did not happen overnight: The country’s evolution on marriage is the result of decades of courage, storytelling and conversation. Countless LGBTQ+ people and their allies have shared their lives openly and honestly, helping friends, families, coworkers and neighbors see the depth of love and commitment that same-sex couples share.

Through these conversations, millions of Americans concluded that they should apply the "Golden Rule" to marriage equality, treating same-sex couples as they would want to be treated. That’s the work that advocates must continue.

We also made sure not to write anyone off as unreachable, but rather, understood that good people could struggle with conflicts in their own values. Some of those folks may never be fully supportive of marriage for same-sex couples – but they also don’t want to see their neighbors and community members lose their freedoms.

We’re at a point now where the vast majority of Americans have moved on from this issue. They’ve either seen the ways that marriage has helped couples take care of each other, build stability for their families and plan for the future – or they’ve adopted a “live and let live” approach, respecting people’s freedom to live their own lives, even if they don’t agree.

There is so much that divides Americans today. Thankfully, the freedom to marry is no longer one of those issues.

Marc Solomon, a partner at Civitas Public Affairs Group, was the national campaign director of Freedom to Marry. He is the author of "Winning Marriage: The Inside Story of How Same-Sex Couples Took On the Politicians and Pundits – and Won."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Same-sex marriage was never in danger. SCOTUS' Kim Davis decision shows it. | Opinion

Reporting by Marc Solomon / USA TODAY

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