Sidebar: Obergefell, 10 years later

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to legally recognize same-sex marriage in Obergefell v. Hodges hits its 10-year anniversary this year, and a radically different court is now tasked with parsing through a fresh slate of thorny questions affecting the LGBTQ community. 

The right to marry was a monumental acknowledgement, a significant step toward mainstream societal acceptance of the LGBTQ community, but the journey there was arduous, and how firm is the foundation upon which that right now stands? 

While a modern, more conservative court ponders such issues as whether parents can shield their kids from books with LGBTQ characters, we take a deep dive into pre-Obergefell America, a place where the evening news declared homosexuality as “embarrassing,” and states used sodomy laws to target same-sex couples. Join us for the eighth episode of our fifth season as we explore the road to Obergefell and where that road appears to be headed in the not-too-distant future. 

Special guests: 

• Marc Stein, history professor at San Francisco State University
• Lee Carpenter, professor at Rutgers Law School
• Jenny Pizer, senior director of strategic initiatives and special counsel to the CEO for Lambda Legal
• John Bursch, senior counsel and vice president of appellate advocacy with Alliance Defending Freedom

Sidebar tackles the top stories you need to know from the legal world. Join reporters Hillel Aron, Kirk McDaniel, Amanda Pampuro, Kelsey Reichmann and Josh Russell as they take you in and out of courtrooms in the U.S. and beyond and break down developments to help you understand how they affect your day-to-day life.

This episode was produced by Kirk McDaniel. Intro music by The Dead Pens.

Editorial staff is Ryan Abbott, Sean Duffy and Jamie Ross.

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• Supreme Court greenlights reckoning on California EV mandate
• Fight over trans rights far from finished at Supreme Court