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By Matt Cannon
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A resolution to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its landmark ruling that legalized gay marriage nationwide has moved forward in Idaho.
In a 44-26 vote on Tuesday, the state's House of Representatives approved a nonbinding resolution asking the High Court to overturn Obergefell vs. Hodges, the 2015 ruling that recognized a constitutional right to same-sex marriage across the U.S.
House Joint Memorial 17 (HJM 17), sponsored by Republican state Representative Tony Wisniewski, called on the court to "restore the natural definition of marriage, a union of one man and one woman."
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In June 2022, when the Supreme Court revoked the constitutional right to abortion, Justice Clarence Thomas argued in a concurring opinion that the High Court "should reconsider" its Obergefell ruling.
But in November, the Supreme Court refused to revisit Obergefell after an appeal brought by former Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis. The court declined Davis' petition without noted dissents.
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Why It Matters
The vote renewed a state-level push to challenge the nationwide legality of same-sex marriage and highlights a broader tension between Idaho Republicans and the U.S. Supreme Court on existing federal constitutional protections for marriage equality.
What To Know
Each of the 44 votes in favor of the resolution were from Republican lawmakers. Seventeen Republicans joined all nine Democrats in voting against it.
Idaho voters amended the state constitution in 2006 to define marriage as between one man and one woman, but a federal judge in 2014 ruled the amendment unconstitutional, legalizing same-sex marriage in Idaho a year before the U.S. Supreme Court extended the right nationwide.
House members passed a similar memorial last year by a 46-24 vote, but it did not advance in the Senate.
In January 2025, the House also approved House Joint Memorial 1 by 46-24 to urge the court to overturn Obergefell, with all Democrats and 15 Republicans in opposition as the measure headed to the Senate.
Supreme Court’s Recent Posture
In November, when the Supreme Court declined to hear Davis' petition seeking to overturn Obergefell, it issued a brief, unsigned order with no noted dissents after the 6th Circuit upheld a jury award to a couple to whom she refused a marriage license.
The justices provided no explanation for denying the review.
Even if the Idaho Senate adopts HJM 17, same-sex marriage would remain legal in Idaho unless the U.S. Supreme Court revisits and reverses Obergefell. The court is under no obligation to act on state memorials.
What People Are Saying
Republican Representative Tony Wisniewski, the resolution's sponsor, said on the House floor during debate on Tuesday, per the Idaho Capital Sun, the Obergefell decision "ultimately resulted in a violation of religious rights of individuals and companies."
Idaho House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel, a Democrat from Boise, said after the vote that the move was "at best, a waste of time and money,"
She added: "But I think it is much worse than that. It is, affirmatively, very harmful and hurtful to Idahoans. It's harmful to the thousands of same-sex married couples in Idaho, many of whom have been married for 10 years or more."
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in an opinion issued in 2022, when the High Court revoked the constitutional right to abortion, wrote: "In future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court's substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell," referencing the 1965 ruling protecting married couples' use of contraceptives and the 2003 ruling that decriminalized same-sex intimacy nationwide.
What Happens Next
The measure advances to the Idaho Senate. If adopted, it would act only as a formal request by the Legislature and would not change current law, unless the U.S. Supreme Court reverses Obergefell.
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