It was ten years ago this week—on June 26th—when gay marriage became the law of the land with the landmark Supreme Court decision Obergefell v. Hodges. Both Jim Obergefell and Freedom to Marry founder Evan Wolfson contributed to the foreword of a new coffee table book, LOVE: The Heroic Stories of Marriage Equality, curated by photographer Frankie Frankeny and writer John Casey.
With the current political climate, many fear that marriage equality could be overturned.
In my last interview with Evan Wolfson back in 2017—published in the Seattle Gay News—Trump had just started his first term. I asked him then, “Is gay marriage safe?”
Here’s what he said:
“Look, anything can happen. So I don’t think we should ever be complacent or give up or stop working. Even though the election was a catastrophe and our country is very much on the wrong path, I actually think there are other communities, values, and causes we care about that are more in danger. If we stand in solidarity with others and keep moving forward, we will also secure our own gains.
I’m not really worried they’re going to take away the freedom to marry. That’s a very hard thing to do. Even former or current opponents are mostly focused on other things.
We won the freedom to marry not just in court, but by shifting public opinion—growing support from 27% when I argued the first trial in Hawaii to 63% in 2015 when the Supreme Court ruled. That didn’t go away on election day. More than a million gay people have gotten legally married in the U.S.—and each of those marriages represents family, friends, and allies who support them. That didn’t go away either.
We won over a hundred court rulings before the final one, and that legal foundation didn’t disappear. We built ‘facts on the ground,’ shifted opinion, mobilized allies. We have to keep doing that work.
And Gallup just reported record-high support for marriage equality—up to 47% even among Republicans. So yes, we need vigilance, but I don’t think losing marriage equality is the biggest threat we face.”
I recently asked Wolfson if he still stands by that statement.
“So far, I stand by everything I said,” Wolfson responded.
Photographer Frankie Frankeny chimed in:
“It sounds like he wrote it yesterday.”
Wolfson agreed:
“Yeah, exactly.”
In our new conversation, Wolfson elaborated:
“There are other communities and values in more immediate danger. If we stand in solidarity and keep moving forward, we’ll secure our own rights too.
I’m not worried they’re going to take away the freedom to marry. That’s extremely difficult to undo. Even our opponents have moved on to other battles.
Let’s remember how we got here: by winning over public opinion through years—decades—of organizing, storytelling, and showing up. When we stood before the Court in 2015, public support had climbed from 27% to 63%. That was no accident. And it hasn’t gone backward.
Of course people are worried now. There’s a lot to worry about. But sitting around cataloging 100 possible future disasters won’t help. If you’re worried—about marriage, about immigrants, about anti-Semitism, the economy, women’s rights, trans rights, democracy—then the answer is to get to work.
Worry doesn’t protect us. Action does.”
He added:
“It’s hard to undo a right. It can happen—look at Dobbs overturning Roe v. Wade—but it’s rare. And even if the Supreme Court were to roll back Obergefell, we put a fallback in place: The Respect for Marriage Act.
Thanks to that bipartisan legislation—signed by President Biden on the White House lawn—any marriage performed legally in one state must be recognized in all 50 states and by the federal government. Even if Obergefell fell, couples could still marry in states where it remains protected and be recognized nationally.
That act passed with support from Republicans, including some who once voted for the so-called Defense of Marriage Act.
So yes, I understand the fear. But fear alone won’t protect us. We all need to do the work—each in our own way.”
Wolfson also reflected on the broader threats to democracy:
“None of us is 100% safe from the assaults and corruption of this current regime. That’s why we must reclaim political power—by electing better lawmakers, reforming the courts, and reaffirming the rule of law, democracy, and pluralism.
That’s not just an LGBT issue—it affects everyone. But queer people, especially trans people, are among those most targeted. And we’ve seen how divide-and-conquer politics and demonization are weaponized to climb to power.
The trans conversation is at an earlier stage than that for gay people, which makes it more vulnerable. Republicans are exploiting that. And yes, some missteps in our activism have made things harder. But we can course-correct.
Books like Frankie’s remind us of what we’ve already overcome: the AIDS crisis, Reagan-era discrimination, legal persecution. We rose to those challenges, and we can rise to this one.”
As Wolfson puts it:
“This is our generation’s call to action. We have to respond. And if we do it together—with solidarity and purpose—we will protect the people and values we love.”
LOVE: The Heroic Stories of Marriage Equality is over 360 pages of Wedding photos and stories that are inspiring to look at. The book is available everywhere.
