Same-sex marriage
Executive summary
Same-sex marriage is legally recognized in 38 countries as of 2025 and covers roughly 1.5 billion people worldwide, while legal and political fights continue, especially in the United States where the Supreme Court in November 2025 declined to revisit the landmark 2015 Obergefell ruling (Wikipedia; New York Times; Reuters) [1] [2] [3]. The U.S. decision to deny review in a challenge brought by former county clerk Kim Davis leaves marriage equality intact for now, but advocates and opponents frame very different political and legal stakes [4] [5].
1. Same-sex marriage’s global footprint: rapid expansion, uneven reach
Lawful same-sex marriage exists in many parts of the Americas and Western Europe but remains geographically uneven: as of 2025, 38 states permit same‑sex marriage and that coverage reaches about 20% of the world’s population — roughly 1.5 billion people — while much of Africa and most of Asia still lack national legalization, with South Africa, Taiwan and Thailand notable exceptions in their regions [1]. Several countries maintain alternative legal recognitions such as civil unions instead of marriage — listed examples include Italy, Hungary, Croatia and others — demonstrating a spectrum of recognition rather than a single global norm [1].
2. The United States: settled law for now, politics still volatile
The U.S. Supreme Court declined in November 2025 to take a case brought by Kim Davis that sought to overturn or chip away at Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 decision that established a constitutional right to same‑sex marriage; the court’s refusal leaves that precedent intact for the moment [2] [4] [3]. Lower‑court awards against Davis — including a damages award upheld by an appellate court — were central to the petition; Davis had asked the court both to relieve her monetary liability and to reconsider Obergefell [4] [2].
3. Legal protections beyond the courts: Congress and statutes
Congress acted in 2022 with the Respect for Marriage Act to provide federal and interstate recognition protections for same‑sex marriages, a legislative backstop that advocates say solidifies many families’ rights even if judicial questions arise [5]. Observers note, however, that state-level laws and court decisions still create a complicated legal landscape in which protections can vary and political initiatives — from “covenant marriage” proposals to state rules about judges and clerks — can affect how those marriages are administered day to day [6] [7].
4. Political reality: broad public support, but partisan fracture
Polling shows majority public support for legal recognition of same‑sex marriage in the U.S., though partisan divides have widened: recent polling cited in the reporting still shows substantial overall support but a sharp gap between Democrats and Republicans, and some surveys in 2025 recorded declines in certain measures of approval amid conservative pushes [8] [7]. Advocacy groups warn that rolling legal challenges and state-level measures could create uncertainty for hundreds of thousands to millions of married same‑sex couples [9] [10].
5. What the November 2025 Supreme Court action does — and does not — resolve
By declining review, the Supreme Court left intact lower‑court rulings that found government employees can be liable when they refuse to perform their duties to issue licenses, and it did not resurrect Obergefell’s doctrinal vulnerability [4] [3]. But the refusal to take the case is narrow: it does not produce a new majority opinion affirming Obergefell’s reasoning, and commentators and legal actors continue to debate whether future petitions could draw the Court into broader reconsideration, especially given prior signals from some justices [2] [10].
6. Competing narratives and the stakes for families
Supporters frame marriage equality as settled law and a matter of fundamental equal protection, pointing to Congressional protections and the lived reality of millions of families; groups like Lambda Legal urged the Court to treat marriage equality as an “unbreakable promise” [5]. Opponents frame the issue as one about religious liberty and conscientious objection; Kim Davis’s filings and the arguments advanced on her behalf emphasized religious conflict and sought both damages relief and doctrinal change [4] [11]. Both narratives are active in courts, legislatures and public debate.
7. Limitations and what reporting does not say
Available sources do not mention any Supreme Court opinion explicitly overruling Obergefell as of November 2025; they say only that the Court declined to take Davis’s petition [4] [2]. Coverage lists numbers of countries and population estimates but does not enumerate every legal nuance or ongoing domestic legislative proposals worldwide — these items require country‑by‑country updates beyond the current reporting [1] [12].
Bottom line: marriage equality stands on firmer ground today than a decade ago — legally protected in dozens of countries and buttressed in U.S. federal law — but political contention, partisan divides and future legal skirmishes keep the issue alive and consequential for families and public officials alike [1] [5] [3].