Idaho Republicans have asked the Supreme Court to overturn the landmark gay marriage ruling.
The stunning request revisits an issue that was once deeply controversial but has become less so with time as public acceptance of gay couples has grown.
The resolution passed 46-24, with all Democrats voting no and all but 15 Republicans voting yes. The proposal asks the Supreme Court to reconsider the 2015 ruling Obergefell v. Hodges, which compelled states nationwide to recognize gay marriage.
The Supreme Court cannot actually overturn Obergefell v. Hodges without a live legal controversy to decide. But the court has shown a willingness to overturn precedents that many have taken for granted, most notably, the landmark abortion ruling Roe v. Wade.
While it's unclear how many justices would be hypothetically supportive of ending Obergefell, Justice Clarence Thomas condemned the "erroneous" legal basis for the decision in his concurring opinion in Dobbs, which repealed Roe.
"In future cases, we should reconsider all of this court’s substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell. Because any substantive due process decision is 'demonstrably erroneous,' we have a duty to 'correct the error' established in those precedents," he said at the time.
The Idaho resolution declares that Obergefell overturned centuries of tradition recognizing marriage as a union of man and wife and asks the Supreme Court to "restore the natural definition of marriage."
“They are human. They do make mistakes,” said Rep. Lucas Cayler (R-Caldwell). "I believe that just like the Roe v. Wade decision was bad jurisprudence, I think that Obergefell v. Hodges was also bad jurisprudence.”
The resolution adds that the Supreme Court's ruling was "in complete contravention" of individual states' constitutions "and the will of their voters, thus undermining the civil liberties of those states' residents and voters."
The court's ruling in Obergefell ended what was, at the time, a contentious national debate on a significant moral issue. Justice Samuel Alito, at the time, warned the ruling would encourage intolerance toward religious people, a prediction many say has been borne out.
"Christians across the nation are being targeted,” said Idaho state Rep. Heather Scott (R).
Since the decision, support of gay couples has grown - although the trend has reversed somewhat recently. Meanwhile, Republicans have largely abandoned what was once a polarizing battle, making the Idaho GOP the exception to the rule.
