Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has issued a stark warning to same-sex couples in the United States, urging them to consider marrying now as the Supreme Court weighs whether to hear a case that could potentially dismantle nationwide protections for LGBTQ+ unions.
The case in question stems from an appeal brought by Kim Davis, the former Kentucky county clerk who became a polarizing figure in 2015 after refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples following the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges ruling. That decision legalized same-sex marriage nationwide and remains one of the most significant civil rights milestones in recent American history.
Davis spent six days in jail for defying the ruling and is now appealing a $100,000 jury verdict against her for emotional damages, along with $260,000 in attorneys’ fees. Her challenge, if heard by the Court, represents the first formal attempt to overturn Obergefell since its passage.
The prospect of the conservative-leaning Supreme Court revisiting marriage equality has generated deep concern within the LGBTQ+ community. Clinton, who has long been outspoken on issues of equality, told Fox News’ The Five that the situation demands urgent attention, according to The Hill. She drew a pointed comparison to the Court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade, which stripped federal protections for abortion and returned decisions to the states.
“American voters, and to some extent the American media, don’t understand how many years the Republicans have been working in order to get us to this point,” Clinton said. “It took 50 years to overturn Roe v. Wade. My prediction is they will do to gay marriage what they did to abortion. They will send it back to the states.”
She stressed that couples in committed relationships should seriously consider marrying while they still can under federal protection. “Anybody in a committed relationship out there in the LGBTQ community, you ought to consider getting married,” Clinton warned. “I don’t think they’ll undo existing marriages, but I fear they will undo the national right.”
If Obergefell were overturned, legality would once again depend on individual state law. Before the 2015 decision, 37 states and the District of Columbia allowed same-sex marriage, while others explicitly banned it. Republican-led states could move quickly to reinstate such bans.
However, the Respect for Marriage Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022, ensures that marriages performed in one state must be recognized in all others, providing some level of safeguard. Still, many advocates fear that a patchwork system would create legal and logistical hurdles for same-sex couples.
Davis’s legal filing maintains that couples already married since Obergefell would retain their marital status, though future unions could be blocked in states choosing to outlaw them. William Powell, attorney for the couple who sued Davis in 2015, expressed confidence in the current case, telling Newsweek that he does not believe Davis’s arguments merit serious consideration.
For many, however, the very fact that the Court is considering whether to take up the case is enough to stoke alarm. Clinton’s warning underscores the uncertainty ahead and the fragile nature of rights that many believed had been settled.