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BERLIN - Ten years after the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling that legalised gay marriage, the White House is reversing a raft of LGBTQ+ rights and Republicans in at least six states are scrambling to ban same-sex weddings.

LGBTQ+ advocates say the right to marry a person of the same sex could be at risk, should judges vote to overturn the Supreme Court's historic 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling.

A Supreme Court showdown remains theoretical, but legal challenges to the 2015 ruling are surfacing across the country, with proponents emboldened by President Donald Trump's return to office.

Here's what you need to know.

What's happened since the U.S. legalised gay marriage?

On June 26, 2015, the U.S. became the 17th country in the world to legalise same-sex marriages nationwide, although several states had recognised such unions for years.

In the U.S., more than 774,000 gay and lesbian couples have wed, according to

In 2022, the Respect for Marriage Act was passed with bipartisan support, requiring the U.S. government, all states and territories recognise same-sex marriages.

Most adults in the United States support same-sex marriage, according to a released in May, but support among Republicans has plunged 14% since 2022 to 41% this year, while 88% of Democrats are in favour - the largest gap recorded since 1996.

Where is same-sex marriage being challenged and how?

Republican lawmakers in Idaho, Michigan, Montana, Oklahoma, North Dakota and South Dakota this year introduced resolutions urging the Supreme Court to overturn its 2015 ruling, although none has cleared both legislative chambers in a state.

In Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas, bills have been introduced that would create "covenant marriages" that are only open to male-female unions.

"What they're doing is sending a signal to Americans that they're interested in weakening same-sex marriage, if not outright getting rid of it," said Paul Collins Jr., a professor of legal studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Southern Baptists, the largest Protestant denomination in the United States, called at an annual meeting of delegates in June for the Obergefell ruling to be .

Could the Supreme Court overturn the 2015 ruling?

While no case is yet on the docket, observers believe the issue could return to the top court in the coming years, possibly pegged to lawsuits around religious freedom.

"One state could pass a law outlawing same-sex marriage or, alternatively, someone who provides marriage licences could refuse to give a same-sex couple a marriage licence, and that would kind of get the ball rolling," Collins said.

Kim Davis, a Kentucky clerk jailed in 2015 for refusing to issue marriage licences to same-sex couples, plans to to the Obergefell ruling, according to news reports.

Since the 2015 decision, the Supreme Court has shifted , with conservative judges holding a 6-3 majority. 

These justices have of businesses that refuse to provide services for gay and lesbian weddings and parents who want to opt children with LGBTQ+ storybooks in recent years.

Some campaigners fear the same court that eliminated the right to abortion three years ago could curtail gay marriage.

"I can see an outcome in the Supreme Court that Obergefell gets overturned and the decision as to whether or not to grant marriage licences to same-sex couples goes back to the states," Collins said.

What would happen if 2015's ruling were overturned?

Should the ruling be overturned, gay and lesbian couples would likely no longer be able to marry in the 30 states that still have bans in place but which are now barred from enforcing, such as Montana, Texas and Florida.

However, couples in those states would not in principle lose their marriage licences - one reason why many same-sex couples have since Trump was elected.

Same-sex marriage would still be legal in the 20 states that have codified it, and other states would have to recognise these unions - so long as the 2022 Respect for Marriage Act remains in place.

Democrats are pushing to repeal old state statutes and constitutional amendments that ban same-sex weddings. Last year, California, Colorado and Hawaii passed ballots to codify marriage equality.

This article was updated on July 3, 2025, to include the latest developments.

(Reporting by Enrique Anarte; Editing by Lyndsay Griffiths, Anastasia Moloney, Ayla Jean Yackley and Ellen Wulfhorst.)