Donald Trump’s win in the 2024 presidential election was unsettling for many in the LGBTQ+ community.
Trump campaigned with anti-transgender rhetoric, and at least one LGBTQ+ organization saw a sharp uptick in people reaching out to their crisis services in the days following the election.
Concerns that same-sex marriage could be under threat began to surface as well, especially after the U.S. Supreme Court, including Trump-appointed justices, overturned the federal right protecting abortion in 2022.
With high public support for same-sex marriage and previous Supreme Court decisions, some say there is little cause for concern about the continued rights of same-sex marriage. Here is what to know about the issue with the incoming administration.
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What is Donald Trump’s stance on same-sex marriage?
Trump’s stance on gay marriage has varied over the years.
Trump expressed support for domestic partnerships in an interview he did with The Advocate in 2000, as reported by CBS News. The signal of support came at a time when many in the GOP did not share such a stance. Later, in 2015, he told CNN he supported “traditional marriage.” But days after being elected in 2016 in a “60 Minutes” interview, he said he was “fine” with same-sex marriage, a far cry from the 2016 GOP platform, which critiqued the Supreme Court decision that granted the federal right to same-sex marriage.
The 2024 GOP platform removed explicit mentions of same-sex marriage, saying only “Republicans will promote a Culture that values the Sanctity of Marriage, the blessings of childhood, the foundational role of families, and supports working parents.”
When asked by NBC News if Trump planned to roll back same-sex marriage, incoming press secretary Karoline Leavitt, said “that was never a campaign promise that he made.” Representatives for the Trump campaign and presidential transition team did not respond to multiple inquiries from USA TODAY.
Can same-sex marriage be overturned?
The Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in the U.S. in 2015 with the Obergefell v. Hodges ruling. In December 2022, President Joe Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act, which passed through Congress with bipartisan support, requiring all states to recognize same-sex and interracial marriages. California, Colorado and Hawaii passed ballot measures in the Nov. 5 election that enshrine same-sex marriage protections in the states’ constitutions.
The National Center for Lesbian Rights urges that same-sex couples do not need to fear that their marriages will be invalidated during Trump’s incoming administration. The organization also pointed to a Supreme Court ruling on Pavan v. Smith after the 2015 decision that continued to uphold same-sex marriage rights.
Gallup polling also shows Americans’ support for legal marriage has climbed from 58% in July of 2015 to highs of 71% in May of 2022 and 2023.
“So even in the worst case (and unlikely) event that the Supreme Court tried to undo its prior ruling on marriage equality, same-sex couples would be able to marry in some states, and their marriages would be respected by other states and by the federal government,” the analysis by NCLR states.
The Human Rights Campaign echoed the sentiment that any efforts to overturn marriage equality would require overcoming significant hurdles and encouraged those concerned about protecting their families to consult with an LGBTQ+ family law attorney.
“The election results are alarming to many Americans, including to members of the LGBTQ+ community who are in same-sex marriages or hope one day to be,” Cathryn Oakley, Senior Director of Legal Policy at the HRC told USA TODAY in a statement. “However, it is important to remember that marriage equality is the law, and that only one Justice out of nine has expressed support for revisiting the Obergefell decision,” referencing Clarence Thomas’ stated support to reconsider the Obergefell decision when the court struck down Roe v. Wade in 2022.
This story has been updated to correct a typo.
Contributing: Greta Cross, Maria Puente
Kinsey Crowley is a trending news reporter at USA TODAY. Reach her at kcrowley@gannett.com, and follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump’s stance on gay marriage has varied through time: What to know
