3 States Just Boosted Same-Sex Marriage Protections in Case Supreme Court Overturns Landmark Ruling

Janine Henni

7 November 2024 at 3:04 pm·2-min read

California, Colorado and Hawaii voted to safeguard marriage equality this week should the Supreme Court ever target the landmark human rights case 'Obergefell v. Hodges'

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Vin Testa of Washington, D.C. waves an LGBTQIA pride flag before the Supreme Court building to mark the anniversary of the United States v. Windsor and Obergefell v. Hodges decision on June 26, 2023 in Washington, D.C. — Anna Moneymaker/Getty
Vin Testa of Washington, D.C. waves an LGBTQIA pride flag before the Supreme Court building to mark the anniversary of the United States v. Windsor and Obergefell v. Hodges decision on June 26, 2023 in Washington, D.C.

California, Colorado and Hawaii moved to protect same-sex marriage at the state level in the 2024 elections this week.

On Tuesday, Nov. 5, voters in the three left-leaning states approved ballot measures that will update their respective constitutions in an effort to ensure that marriage equality remains the law of the land.

Though same-sex marriage has been legal nationwide since 2015 through the landmark Supreme Court decision Obergefell v. Hodges, some activists grew concerned about the future of marriage equality when the Supreme Court's conservative supermajority overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.

Allison Shelley/For The Washington Post via Getty Joe and Frank Capley-Alfano of California rally before the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. on April 28, 2015, the day the Court heard oral argument in Obergefell v. Hodges. — Allison Shelley/For The Washington Post via Getty
Joe and Frank Capley-Alfano of California rally before the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. on April 28, 2015, the day the Court heard oral argument in Obergefell v. Hodges.

In California, voters approved Proposition 3, which will remove the state's inactive 2008 ban on same-sex marriage from the constitution and instead guarantee the right for people to marry regardless of their sex or race.

Coloradans were given a similar option in the general election, approving Amendment J, which posed the question, "Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado constitution removing the ban on same-sex marriages?" Colorado passed the ban in 2006, and it was never formally repealed.

Hawaii legalized same-sex marriage two years before the Supreme Court mandated it, yet a section remained in the state constitution that gave the Hawaii Legislature authority to impose a same-sex marriage ban down the road. This year, Hawaii voters agreed to scratch that section from the constitution so that state lawmakers no longer have the power "to reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples."

Justin Sullivan/Getty Election materials on a table at Santa Clara County registrar of voters office on Oct. 21, 2024 in San Jose, California. — Justin Sullivan/Getty
Election materials on a table at Santa Clara County registrar of voters office on Oct. 21, 2024 in San Jose, California.

It has been suggested that the Supreme Court's move to overturn Roe v. Wade paves a path to go after same-sex marriages next, which far-right Justice Clarence Thomas seemingly alluded to in a concurring opinion for Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.

Voters in California, Colorado and Hawaii amplified the safeguards for marriage equality at the same time that President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, who have voiced hostilities toward LGBTQ+ people, prepare to enter the White House in January 2025.

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