64 - Overturning Obergefell
“A just society can permit adults to form consensual relationships. But it must only promote the one family structure that does not require a child to lose their mother or father to be in it.” ~ Katy Faust[1]
On January 28th, 2026, the Greater Than Campaign was launched by a coalition of individuals and organizations from various denominations, aimed at overturning the Obergefell decision.[2]
Spearheaded by Them Before Us,[3] this is part of their overall mission to put the needs of children before those of adults in public policy. The following video serves as an introduction:
History
In the article, “Today, We Take Back Marriage for Kids,” posted by Them Before Us, we see a review of what happened in the wake of this landmark Supreme Court ruling:
In 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court mandated nationwide same-sex marriage in Obergefell v. Hodges on the grounds that adult “equality” required extending to same-sex couples the “constellation of benefits” historically associated with marriage.
But ten years later, it is clear that constellation included children. In the name of a newly invented “right” to marry a person of the same sex, the law was forced to accomplish what biology prohibits: making two adults of the same sex parents of a child. That required a decade-long overhaul of parenthood centered around adult desire rather than child need:
· Sex-based parenthood was erased. “Mother” and “father” were replaced with interchangeable, gender-neutral “parents.”
· Biological bonds were downgraded. A child’s relationship to his or her biological pHRC’s message that it aims for equality. Yet the importance of having connections with one’ses were declared “infertile,” enabling insurance or state-subsidized manufacturing of motherless or fatherless children.
· Birth certificates were altered. Children were intentionally and legally severed from their biological parents at birth.
· New parentage pathways were created. Adults gained parental rights without biology or adoption-level screening.
…Ten years of Obergefell has made one thing clear: the law cannot simultaneously uphold a child’s right to his or her mother and father while affirming same-sex marriage.
In a 2017 article in First Things, Jeff Shafer4 provided examples of the changes in these laws, and further reflected on Obergefell:
The Court having redefined marriage to eliminate its connection to sexual complementarity and the institutional binding together of mother-father-child, there is cause to doubt whether those natural bonds are allowed any longer to matter in law at all, for any reason. For the key point is not what features the Court abolished, but what it abolished them from: namely, the archetypal, paradigm-resolving public institution that represents the law’s understanding of human nature. The Court having banished the norm of kinship from the marital family (ever its vital locus), it would be incongruous to permit that norm’s survival anywhere else.
In the Obergefell decision the connection between children and their biological parents was not given due consideration. One of the major advocacy groups pushing for the legalization of same sex “marriage” was the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). In their logo, we see the message that the HRC aims for equality:
Yet the importance of having connections with one’s mother and father was not given equal weight on the road to “marriage equality.” In contrast, the Greater Than campaign puts the needs of children before the wants of adults, and we see this reflected in their name and logo:
Here we find echoes of Philippians 2:3-4: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of others.” And 1 Corinthians 10:24: “No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.”
Strategy
The Greater Than Coalition is taking the following approach to “restoring marriage to the child-protecting institution is was meant to be.”[5]
First, we must re-establish the preeminence of the parent–child relationship through policy reform and strategic court cases.
The law must confront the reality that state-assigned parenthood is state-endorsed child trafficking—severing children from their natural parents to satisfy adult demands. The Supreme Court will ultimately be forced to choose: natural bonds or children as commodities. It cannot coherently uphold both.
Second, we must change public opinion—but that will not happen until we change the victim.
This time, it’s not adults seeking insurance benefits or hospital visitations, all of which could have been secured through other legal means. If we are to retake legal marriage, we must highlight the real victims, the children who have been starved of maternal or paternal love, acquired by predators, mass produced, trafficked across borders, struggling with identity confusion, and subjected to risky households. We win when ordinary citizens understand the direct connection between natural marriage and child protection.
Third, we must transform the Church into a child-centered fighting force. The Church’s historical inheritance is child protection, often at the cost of adult offense. From ending foot binding, to enacting child labor laws, to rejecting abortion and infanticide worldwide, the church is charged with defending the fatherless (and motherless), not standing by while they are legally orphaned to serve adults. Child protection is, and always has been, one expression of a Christian’s pure and undefiled religion before God. Greater Than will help the Church do exactly that.[6]
On the Legal Front
In 2025, at least five states advanced resolutions or similar measures that explicitly urge the Supreme Court to reverse Obergefell v. Hodges or that otherwise seek to challenge nationwide marriage equality: Idaho, Michigan, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota. These are generally non‑binding resolutions or political statements rather than enforceable bans, but they are framed as part of a broader push to return marriage policy to the states and to invite the Court to reconsider the 2015 ruling.[7] Lawmakers in several additional states have proposed bills that do not directly name Obergefell but would restrict or re-categorize marriage in ways that conflict with it. In 2025, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas saw proposals to create “covenant marriage” or similar categories limited to one man and one woman.[8]
In response to the launch of the Greater Than campaign, State Senator Dusty Deevers pointed out his efforts to restore the interests of children in relation to their parents in the state of Oklahoma:
Dusty Deevers @DustyDeevers
OK State Senator District 32
Obergefell must be overturned. When you redefine marriage, you redefine the relationship of children to their parents. When you throw out God’s design for the raising of children, you invite His judgment. That is why I introduced the Overturn Obergefell Resolution, which has 40 co-authors so far. I am thankful for the work of @MakeKidsGreater and I hope the Oklahoma legislature expresses our support for this cause by passing SCR8 this upcoming session.[9]
To learn more about how to pray for and join the Greater Than movement, visit
https://greaterthancampaign.com/
In the next edition of R4R, we’ll review answers to questions people are raising about overturning the Obergefell decision, and a free resource for churches to help equip their members to learn more about the underlying reasons why marriage between one man and one woman is best for children and society.
[1] Katy Faust[1] @Advo_Katy, Jan 28, X
[2] The 2015 Supreme Court case which allowed for the legalization of same sex “marriage.”
[3] “Them Before Us is a global movement committed to defending children’s right to their mother and father. We believe that adult desires should never come at the expense of a child’s fundamental needs.
We are not professional lobbyists or political insiders. We are ordinary people with an extraordinary conviction: children must come first in every conversation about marriage, family, and fertility. We exist to make one thing clear: when adults sacrifice for children, society thrives. When children are forced to sacrifice for adults, everyone pays the price.”
3 months ago · 63 likes · 20 comments · Them Before Us
[4] Senior Council at Alliance Defending Freedom
[5] https://greaterthancampaign.com/about-us/
3 months ago · 63 likes · 20 comments · Them Before Us
[7] https://www.axios.com/2025/06/26/marriage-equality-bans-trigger-laws-obergefell-hodges-anniversary
[8] https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/lawmakers-9-states-propose-measures-undermine-sex-marriage-rights-rcna193743
[9] X, 1/28/26
