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By Jenna Sundel
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A new group is campaigning against same-sex marriage, with the goal of having the landmark decision that legalized it overturned in the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Greater Than Campaign states on its website: “When marriage was redefined in 2015, parenthood was too. Once husbands and wives became optional, mothers and fathers became replaceable. But for a child, their mother and father are never optional, they are essential. Children need both a mother and a father to provide stability, guidance, and the unique love only a man and woman can give. No adult desire or ideology can change that.”
The group says it is “changing laws, reshaping culture, and calling America to rise up and protect every child.”
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"Ten years of Obergefell have shown us, loud and clear, that children deserve better and that they are Greater Than adult desires – and it’s time we make a change," Katy Faust, founder and president of Them Before Us and a spokesperson for the campaign, said in a statement sent to Newsweek. "Which is why this coalition of parents, faith leaders, influencers, nonprofits, and policy makers have linked arms to undo the harm of Obergefell, push SCOTUS to overturn it, and to protect the rights of children nationwide."
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Why It Matters
The Supreme Court declined to hear a new challenge to same-sex marriage last year. Kim Davis, a Kentucky court clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, filed an appeal to the highest court. The justices denied the petition without comment in November.
Several Republican-led states have also introduced resolutions calling for the Supreme Court to overturn the decision to legalize same-sex marriage, including Idaho, Montana and North Dakota.
The current court has a 6-3 conservative majority, greater than the 5-4 conservative majority the court had when gay marriage was legalized.
A May 2025 Gallup poll found that 68 percent of Americans support same-sex marriage. The poll also found that Republican support for same-sex marriage is at 41 percent, down 14 percentage points from its peak of 55 percent in 2021.
What To Know
Obergefell v. Hodges is a landmark Supreme Court ruling that legalized gay marriage in 2015. The decision was 5-4, with three justices who are still on the Supreme Court dissenting. Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Samuel Alito and Justice Clarence Thomas did not join the majority on the decision.
Alito spoke about same-sex marriage in an interview with Italian newspaper Corielle Della Sera last year.
“Same-sex marriage was decided 10 years ago, but a lot has happened since then," he said. "A lot of people of the same sex have gotten married and relied on the decision and it is consistent with what polls show Americans think.”
The Supreme Court's 6-3 conservative majority includes justices who were not on the court at the time of the Obergefell v. Hodges decision.
One of them, conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett, told The New York Times’ Ross Douthat that the Supreme Court’s landmark same-sex marriage decision generated “concrete reliance interests,” a factor courts typically consider when determining whether to overturn precedent. Barrett defined reliance interest as “things that would be upset or undone if a decision is undone.”
What People Are Saying
Republican Oklahoma State Senator Dusty Deevers, on X: “Obergefell must be overturned. When you redefine marriage, you redefine the relationship of children to their parents. When you throw out God's design for the raising of children, you invite His judgment. That is why I introduced the Overturn Obergefell Resolution, which has 40 co-authors so far. I am thankful for the work of @MakeKidsGreater and I hope the Oklahoma legislature expresses our support for this cause by passing SCR8 this upcoming session.”
Robert P. George, McCormick professor of jurisprudence and director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University, on X: "Embracing a concept of marriage as a form of sexual-romantic companionship or domestic partnership (something that happened long before the advent of 'same-sex marriage') was, I believe, a tragic mistake. That's why I join *Greater Than* in working to restore in law and cultural the historic conjugal understanding of marriage--an understanding that prioritizes the needs and rights of children to the desires or perceived interests of adults."
Justice Amy Coney Barrett told The New York Times last year that decisions about who to marry, where to live and children are “absolutely reliance interests,” adding that she would not classify them as “social reliance interests” because that makes it seem like “things in the air,” whereas those examples are “very concrete reliance interest.”
What Happens Next
The Supreme Court would need to agree to hear a new case challenging Obergefell v. Hodges in order to potentially overturn the landmark ruling.
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Update 2/3/26, 9:29 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from Katy Faust.
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