U.S. Supreme Court Declines to Reconsider Same-Sex Marriage Ruling

Marriage, , , ,

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, November 10, 2025

Little Rock, Ark.— On Monday, Family Council expressed disappointment after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review a case challenging its 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling on same-sex marriage. Family Council President Jerry Cox said the Court missed an important opportunity to correct what many continue to view as an overreach of judicial authority.

“Obergefell was a poorly reasoned decision from the moment it was handed down,” Cox said. “The Constitution does not give the federal government the power to redefine marriage. That authority rests with the states and with the people. By refusing to take this case, the Court has chosen to leave in place a ruling that short-circuited the democratic process.”

Cox said the Obergefell decision is about a lot more than just same-sex marriage. “The bigger question has always been about how marriage will be defined in America and who gets to write that definition. From 2004 to 2015, voters in more than three-fifths of the country democratically passed laws and amendments defining marriage in their respective states. In most cases, those measures defined marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Voters in three states chose to define marriage differently. The court’s Obergefell decision struck down every one of those state marriage laws.”

Cox noted that despite the Court’s refusal to hear the case, the debate over marriage is far from settled. “Millions of Americans still believe that marriage is the union of one man and one woman, and that belief is rooted not only in religious conviction but in thousands of years of human history. The Court may choose not to review Obergefell today, but the conversation about marriage and family will continue. We remain committed to defending the freedom of people who hold to the traditional understanding of marriage.”

###

READ MORE

U of A Polling Shows Arkansans Still Oppose Abortion, Same-Sex Marriage

Abortion, Marriage, , , , , ,

This week the University of Arkansas released its annual Arkansas Poll for 2016. The poll examines Arkansans’ social and political views as well as approval of elected officials.

This year’s poll found Arkansans’ views have changed very little on, among other things, abortion and same-sex marriage.

Since 2015, 46% of Arkansans have said it ought to be more difficult to get an abortion; only 13% said it ought to be easier.

This confirms polling from other sources that has consistently found Americans oppose late-term abortion and believe abortion ought to be illegal in some or all circumstances.

Even though the U.S. Supreme Court nullified state marriage laws nationwide with its Obergefell decision in 2015, 57% of Arkansans still think same-sex marriage should not be recognized.

The numbers go up when the responses are narrowed to likely voters, with 48% of likely voters opposing abortion and 60% opposing same-sex marriage.

You can read the poll summary here.

READ MORE