Is Obergefell v. Hodges still law in 2025?

1. What the November 2025 Supreme Court action means: denial, not reversal

When the Supreme Court turns down a petition for review, it does not change or overrule the underlying precedent; it simply leaves the lower-court ruling and Supreme Court precedent intact. Multiple outlets report the justices rejected Kim Davis’s petition that sought both relief from a damages award and expressly asked the Court to overturn Obergefell ^{[1] [2]}. Because the Court refused to hear the appeal, Obergefell was not reopened or reversed by the high court in that action ^{[1] [2]}.

2. What Obergefell held and why its status matters

Obergefell v. Hodges ^[5] held that under the Fourteenth Amendment all states must license marriages between same-sex couples and recognize such marriages performed lawfully in other states; that is the legal core reporters cite when describing the decision as making same-sex marriage legal nationwide ^{[4] [6]}. The 2025 media coverage consistently treats Obergefell as the controlling precedent that authoritatively guarantees nationwide marriage equality absent a Supreme Court reversal ^{[6] [2]}.

3. The Kim Davis case: a vehicle that could have invited a revisit

Kim Davis, the former Kentucky county clerk who in 2015 refused to issue same-sex marriage licenses, sought Supreme Court review in 2025 after a federal appeals court upheld damages against her; her petition to the Court explicitly asked the justices to reconsider Obergefell ^{[1] [7]}. Legal commentators and outlets characterized Davis’s petition as a long‑shot vehicle for challengers who want Obergefell revisited, noting that even if the Court took the case it was far from certain a majority would overturn the 2015 ruling ^{[8] [9] [10]}.

4. Why supporters of repeal pressed the case and why some experts called it unlikely

Conservative legal advocates and some state lawmakers renewed efforts in 2025 to limit or roll back federal protections for same-sex marriage, and several states entertained measures criticizing Obergefell ^{[9] [11]}. Still, commentators and legal experts warned the Davis petition was procedurally narrow and might not require the Court to resolve Obergefell even if accepted; that caution undercut predictions that the Court would quickly sweep aside the 2015 precedent ^{[10] [9]}.

5. The federal legislative backstop: Respect for Marriage Act

Reporting notes that even in scenarios where the Court might alter constitutional doctrine affecting Obergefell, same-sex marriages already recognized across state lines gained statutory protection from the Respect for Marriage Act of 2022, which repealed the Defense of Marriage Act and recognized the validity of same-sex marriages for federal purposes ^[3]. Several advocacy groups and state organizations pointed to that Act as an important safeguard should Obergefell ever be overturned ^[12].

6. Political and legal terrain going forward

Coverage in late 2025 shows renewed activism on both sides: advocates for repeal pressed state legislation and petitions, while LGBTQ advocacy groups and some justices signalled resistance to revisiting marriage equality ^{[9] [13] [14]}. The Supreme Court’s refusal to take Davis’s petition in November 2025 was a temporary halt, not an ironclad guarantee against future challenges—reporters explicitly frame the denial as “for now” rather than a forever-settled closure ^{[15] [3]}.

7. Bottom line for 2025: status and uncertainty

Based on the sources provided, Obergefell remains the controlling Supreme Court precedent as of the Court’s November 2025 decision to decline review of the Davis petition, and federal statutory protections from the Respect for Marriage Act further support same-sex married couples ^{[1] [3] [4]}. However, logging of active legal challenges, state-level efforts, and commentary from justices and advocates in 2025 underscores that the legal status of marriage equality remains politically and legally contested—even if unchanged by the high court in that particular action ^{[2] [9]}.