Photo: Eric Holder. Credit: North Charleston/flickr.
When the issue of marriage equality once again comes before the nation’s highest court, the Obama administration will file a brief advocating for same-sex couples’ right to marry, Attorney General Eric Holder said during an interview with ABC News.
“I think we will file a brief that is consistent with the actions that we have taken over the past couple of years,” Holder told ABC’s Pierre Thomas. “We did not defend the Defense of Marriage Act. We were vindicated by the Supreme Court. The president then asked us to make the promise of the Windsor decision real. I sent a letter to the president just a couple weeks ago that talked about all the things we have done to knock down the barriers that still exist for same-sex married couples.”
According to Holder, these actions leave the Obama administration arguing that state bans on same-sex marriage are unconstitutional the logical next step.
“We’re proud of what we have done,” Holder said. “If a case comes before the Supreme Court we will file something consistent with what we have done that will be in support of same-sex marriage.”
Holder’s remarks come after Utah officials announced last week they will appeal a federal court decision declaring the state’s same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional to the Supreme Court, although the court has no obligation to hear the case. The office of Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes announced the decision July 9, opting to take the state’s appeal to the Supreme Court, rather than the full 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, in order to “obtain clarity and resolution from the highest court.”
Last month, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 to uphold a lower court’s ruling that Utah’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. On December 20 U.S District Court Judge Robert J. Shelby found Utah’s same-sex marriage ban in violation of the U.S. Constitution, leading more than 1,000 same-sex couples to marry before the U.S. Supreme Court interjected and halted marriages pending appeal. The appeals court heard oral arguments in the case on April 10.
Asked if he believes discrimination against same-sex couples in terms of marriage is unconstitutional, Holder said he does.
“That’s why we decided not to support the Defense of Marriage Act,” Holder continued. “When you have differentiations that are made on the basis of sexual orientation they should be subject to heightened scrutiny. That being the case, I think a lot of these measures that ultimately will come before the court will not survive a heightened scrutiny examination.”
Holder’s remarks come little more than year after the Supreme Court declared Section 3 of DOMA, defining marriage as between a man and a woman, unconstitutional. That sweeping 5-4 decision by the high court has sparked litigation challenging same-sex marriage bans in every state where they are on the books. Marriage equality also has not lost a single day in court since the Windsor decision. Federal courts have ruled in favor of marriage equality in Utah, Ohio, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Oregon, Wisconsin and Indiana. State courts in Arkansas, New Jersey, New Mexico and Colorado have also sided with marriage equality.
A new Pew Research Center survey finds that 59% of LGBTQ U.S. adults under age 50 who have never been married say they want to marry someday -- nearly the same as the 63% of non-LGBTQ adults who do. About 12% of each group say they never want to marry, while more than one-quarter are unsure of their future marriage plans.
By age, younger Americans who have never been married are more eager to wed than older peers, who are less certain and more doubtful about ever marrying.
Among those aged 18 to 29 who have never married, 67% of LGBTQ adults and 73% of non-LGBTQ adults say they want to marry someday. By contrast, just 48% of LGBTQ adults and 49% of non-LGBTQ adults aged 30 to 49 say the same, with nearly one-third in each group unsure.
With Obergefell at risk and 32 states poised to restrict same-sex marriage, LGBTQ advocates push to enshrine protections at the state level.
By Maximilian Sandefer
August 6, 2025
On June 22, 2022, the Supreme Court issued a landmark decision with Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. Abortion rights were now no longer guaranteed nationwide as the issue was left up to the states. This shock reversal of over 49 years of precedent left reproductive rights activists scrambling as anti-choice state laws stemming from as far back as 1864 were revived and reinstituted.
As people's ability to access to reproductive care dwindled in conservative-led states, activists also found their footing. The 2024 election saw abortion rights ballot measures win in seven out of ten states. As we navigate a landscape where it will likely be a long time before we see any form of successful federal legislation protecting a woman's right to choose, state-by-state activism seems to be the driving force behind change.
The former Kentucky clerk -- and anti-LGBTQ culture warrior -- who went to jail rather than issue licenses to same-sex couples is now targeting the landmark 2015 ruling.
A decade after catapulting to right-wing stardom, Kim Davis -- the former Rowan County, Kentucky county clerk who chose jail over issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples -- has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its landmark 2015 decision that legalized marriage equality nationwide.
Represented by the anti-LGBTQ Liberty Counsel, Davis has formally asked the nation’s highest court to strip away the right of same-sex couples to marry.
A Mike Huckabee acolyte and four-time married fundamentalist zealot, Davis rose to fame in 2015 when she refused to issue marriage licenses to any couple -- gay or straight -- after the Supreme Court’s Obergefell v. Hodges decision struck down all state-level bans on same-sex marriage, including Kentucky’s. Ordered to comply, she instead spent six days in jail for contempt of court.
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
You must be logged in to post a comment.