Let’s Talk About LGBTQ+ Marriage Equality

LGBTQ+ marriage equality has remained the law of the United States since 2015. In the past decade, it has been the topic of state legislation, civil rights litigation, political attacks, and immeasurable discussion. Still, it remains the law of the land. Let’s discuss the current state of LGBTQ+ marriage equality – both nationally and at home in New Jersey and Pennsylvania – and what concerned LGBTQ+ individuals can do amidst questions about its future.

1. National LGBTQ+ Marriage Equality

Same-sex marriage became the law of the United States in the summer of 2015, when the United States Supreme Court decided Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 664 (2015), and held that the fundamental right to marry extends to LGBTQ+ people under the United States Constitution. Since this decision, the Respect for Marriage Act (RFMA) was passed and signed into law in December of 2022. Obergefell and RFMA work together to protect same-sex marriage in the United States. Simply put, Obergefell guarantees that every state will perform same-sex marriages, while RFMA compels all states and territories to recognize the validity of same-sex – and interracial – marriages.

In August of 2025, it was reported that Kim Davis, the disgraced former Kentucky county clerk who was jailed for six days in 2015 for refusing to issue marriage licenses to LGBTQ+ couples, is seeking to appeal a civil case against her to the United States Supreme Court in an effort to challenge Obergefell and same-sex marriage.

Davis has been sued by several same-sex couples to whom she refused to issue marriage licenses, claiming it would violate her religious beliefs. In one case, the jury awarded the same-sex couple $100,000 for emotional damages and $260,000 for attorneys fees. Davis has appealed the jury’s verdict and has lost in every court; she has exhausted all other options, leaving her to appeal her case to the Supreme Court.

In short, Davis filed a petition for a writ of certiorari, which is a formal request to that the United States Supreme Court hear a case from a lower court. Very few of these types of requests – less than 5% – are granted. While headlines about Davis’s petition for a writ of certiorari can sound concerning, there is no need to panic. Even if the Supreme Court agrees to hear the appeal, that does not mean that Davis will win the appeal.

• The Supreme Court has not agreed to hear the case. It will decide whether to hear the case this fall, but many legal commentators do not believe the Court will hear the case because of the complicated underlying facts.
• If the Supreme Court agreed to hear a case involving same-sex marriage, LGBTQ+ marriage equality cannot disappear overnight. It takes time for cases to be heard and decided by the Supreme Court.
• If Davis’s case (or another case challenging same-sex marriage before the Supreme Court) is successful, the result would be that each state would be able to determine whether or not to allow same-sex marriages under that state’s laws. However, as long as the Respect for Marriage Act is in effect, every state would continue to be required to recognize marriage from other states.

2. LGBTQ+ Marriage Equality in New Jersey

In New Jersey, same-sex marriage has been recognized since 2013 and was codified into state law in 2022. New Jersey law defines marriage as a union between two people, regardless of gender. This expansive definition means that New Jersey law will continue to protect same-sex marriage, regardless of federal law.

3. LGBTQ+ Marriage Equality in Pennsylvania

Same-sex marriage was legally recognized in Pennsylvania in 2014, when a federal judge ruled that the Commonwealth’s 1996 ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. However, the 1996 ban – which defines marriage as a union between one man and one woman – has never been repealed and could be enforceable if Obergefell is overturned in the future.

In August of 2025, Pennsylvania legislators introduced HB-1800, which would repeal the 1996 ban and update Pennsylvania’s laws to protect the right to same-sex marriage within the Commonwealth.

4. What Can I Do?

LGBTQ+ marriage equality is still the law of the United States. While challenges to LGBTQ+ marriage equality are sure to incite anger, fear, outrage and feelings of hopelessness, it is important to sift through the misinformation and panic and to focus on legally protecting ourselves and our loved ones in case there are future changes in the law.

Contact your Pennsylvania state legislator and urge them to support HB-1800.

While it is unlikely for Obergefell to be overturned, it is important for Pennsylvania law to reflect and protect the Commonwealth’s LGBTQ+ community.

Please consider contacting your Pennsylvania representatives and urging them to support HB-1800. Find your Pennsylvania representative here.

Contact an attorney for estate planning to legally protect yourself and your family.

If LGBTQ+ marriage equality changes in the future, estate planning is a powerful tool to ensure that an individual’s wishes are carried out in the event of incapacity or  death. It is important for all adults to have estate planning that accurately reflects their wishes; however, it is crucial for LGBTQ+ individuals to have these documents.

Concerned individuals can reach out to our office and schedule a consultation to learn more about estate planning and the tools they can use to legally protect themselves and their relationships.

Legally adopt your children if you are not related by biology or adoption.

Many LGBTQ+ families use assisted reproduction technology (ART) and/or donors of genetic material to conceive and raise a family. But the growing use of ART often means more complicated legal hurdles for LGBTQ+ parents to be recognized as their child’s legal parent.

Appearing on your child’s birth certificate, being married to your child’s other parent, or even being genetically related to your child may not be enough to establish parentage or confer parental rights that will be recognized for all purposes. While some states, including Pennsylvania, recognize intent-based parentage, this does not mean these rights extend across state borders. Parentage laws are determined by individual states, meaning that LGBTQ+ parents are subject to other states’ laws if they move, if they are in another state during an emergency, or if LGBTQ+ marriage equality changes in the future.

Parents who are not biologically or genetically related to their child, parents who are genetically related to their child but did not gestate (or carry) their child, or parents who used a gestational carrier or surrogate to conceive their child should obtain an adoption to confirm and secure their parental rights as soon as possible.

Concerned LGBTQ+ parents or potential parents can reach out to our office and schedule a consultation to learn more about the confirmatory adoption process in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Don’t panic.

Actions like Davis’s appeal – or the Trump administration’s attacks on the transgender, gender non-conforming, and intersex communities – are strategies intended to cause confusion, fear, and panic. If individuals are feeling overwhelmed and defeated, this is by design. It is important to remember that LGBTQ+ marriage equality is more complicated than one Supreme Court decision, one state’s laws, or one desperate appeal. LGBTQ+ individuals and families should communicate, strategize, and remember – our community is stronger than the baseless attacks against it.