Idaho lawmakers move to restore 'natural definition' of marriage, bring back same-sex ban

Ian Max Stevenson, Idaho Statesman on Jan 7, 2025

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BOISE, Idaho — An Idaho House committee will consider a formal statement asking the U.S. Supreme Court to end same-sex marriage nationwide and allow the state to restore its ban on such unions.

State Rep. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard, proposed the measure that calls the 2015 decision from the nation’s highest court to legalize same-sex marriage an “illegitimate overreach.” It asked the court to reinstate the “natural definition of marriage” — between one man and one woman.

The court’s 2015 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges was a landmark decision that allowed gay couples to wed across the country, even in states that still banned unions of people from the same gender. The ruling also was widely recognized as a turning point in Americans’ views on same-sex marriage, which have become much more favorable over the last two decades, according to national polling from the Pew Research Center.

But the Supreme Court’s decision came by a 5-4 vote, and three new conservative justices have since been appointed by Republican President Donald Trump, shifting the court to the right. Two of the court’s most hard-line conservatives, Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, have previously written that the Obergefell decision should be reconsidered.

“The purpose of this resolution is just to affirm our state authority to regulate marriage,” Scott said at Tuesday’s hearing.

The committee moved Scott’s proposal forward Tuesday, and it will return to the committee for a public hearing at a date yet to be set. If ultimately passed by the Legislature, the statement — carrying only symbolic but not legal weight — would be sent to the Supreme Court.

In a statement, House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel, D-Boise, and Senate Minority Leader Melissa Wintrow, D-Boise, called the effort a “sad distraction” from more important issues.

“This is yet another example of the extreme wing of the Republican Party ginning up divisive social issues in order to create problems where none exist,” the Idaho Democratic Party leaders told the Idaho Statesman. “Big government has no business telling consenting adults who they should love.

“This resolution may be a helpful gimmick for winning in closed GOP primaries,” they added, “but it should be offensive to all Idahoans who value their individual rights and freedoms and just want to live their lives without egregious government interference.”

Idaho’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage is still on the books, approved by voters in 2006 with 63% support. An Idaho federal judge ruled the state’s prohibition violated the U.S. Constitution’s due process clause in 2014, which was followed a year later by the nationwide court decision.

Nearly half of Idahoans who participated in a fall 2022 public opinion poll conducted by the Statesman and SurveyUSA also said they believed couples of the same gender should be legally allowed to marry. Of the 550 respondents from across the state, 37% said same-sex marriage should be unlawful and 14% said they weren’t sure, and the poll had a confidence rating of about +/- 5% points.

Growing concerns about the impermanence of Supreme Court precedents prompted Congress to pass legislation in 2022 that required all states to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states. Both of Idaho’s senators, Republicans Jim Risch and Mike Crapo, voted against the bill, as did Idaho Republican Rep. Russ Fulcher. Rep. Mike Simpson voted in favor.

President Joe Biden, a Democrat, signed the bipartisan-backed Respect for Marriage Act into law.

Committee takes up resolution praising BSU volleyball

Also on Tuesday, the House State Affairs Committee introduced a measure praising Boise State University’s women’s volleyball team, which forfeited three matches during the season against a California team that reportedly had a transgender athlete on its roster. BSU’s decision joined a wider fight against transgender participation in female sports, and the team’s decision has already been commended by a number of Idaho officials. Two Broncos players joined a lawsuit against the Mountain West Conference over the issue, which was dismissed.

Idaho was the first state to ban transgender athlete participation in female sports. Gov. Brad Little lauded the BSU volleyball team during his annual State of the State address on Monday. The American Civil Liberties Union sued Idaho over its ban, which has been condemned by LGBTQ+ advocates.

Rep. Barbara Ehardt, R-Idaho Falls, who Little recognized in his remarks, sponsored the resolution and said she wants the NCAA to change its policies on transgender athletes, which allow them to play in female sports.

“Their regressive policies are putting men in women’s sports, men in single sex spaces, and its not right,” she said at Tuesday’s hearing.

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