Roger-Luc Chayer (Photo : Jeff Swensen / Getty Images)
The former First Lady of the United States urged members of the LGBT community last week to marry quickly if they intended to do so. According to her, the right to same-sex marriage could soon be at risk, following the decisions of former President Donald Trump and his apparent desire to erase all traces of the existence of homosexual people.
According to Axios, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton predicted that the Supreme Court would “do to gay marriage what it did to abortion” and send the decision back to the states.
Same-sex marriage has had a long and turbulent journey in the United States, marked by progress and setbacks. Starting in the 1990s, several states passed laws explicitly banning such unions, including the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defined marriage at the federal level as a union between one man and one woman. However, some progressive states and courts, like Massachusetts in 2004, paved the way by legalizing gay marriage.
During the 2010s, more and more states recognized same-sex unions, often following court rulings that invalidated bans. The turning point came in 2015 when the U.S. Supreme Court, in Obergefell v. Hodges, ruled that the right to marry also applied to same-sex couples, ensuring equality nationwide.
What is President Trump’s current stance on this issue?
Donald Trump’s position on same-sex marriage has always been ambivalent. In the 2000s, he expressed support for civil partnerships but opposed marriage itself (Economic Times). In 2011, he reaffirmed his opposition. During his first presidential campaign, he still spoke in favor of “traditional marriage,” while acknowledging that the Obergefell v. Hodges decision had “settled the issue.”
Since returning to the presidency in 2025, Trump has not publicly clarified his position on same-sex marriage, but his administration has implemented measures restricting several LGBTQ+ rights, particularly in health care and education. According to Time and Them.us, marriage equality remains legal thanks to Obergefell, but the appointment of conservative judges and the current political climate weaken this protection.
Trump and the erasure of LGBT identities
Since his return to power as President of the United States — and “leader of the world,” in his own words — Donald Trump has signed numerous executive orders restricting the social, medical, and community rights of homosexual people.
On the day of his inauguration in January 2025, Trump issued an order requiring the government to recognize only two immutable sexes — male and female — effectively erasing gender identity from official documents such as passports and cutting funding for gender-affirming care.
A few days later, another order barred transgender individuals from military service, citing unit cohesion and effectiveness. By the end of January, a third executive action denied minors access to transition-related medical care, including puberty blockers, hormone treatments, and surgeries, by prohibiting federal funding for such procedures.
At the same time, the administration targeted public education: a decree required schools to end recognition or support for students’ social transitions, including the use of preferred pronouns or names, access to appropriate bathrooms, and participation in sports according to gender identity.
Nearly all of these executive orders are now facing legal challenges in court.
Regarding the right to marriage for LGBT individuals, unions celebrated before the Supreme Court’s ruling should, in principle, remain valid. However, given the Court’s judges, who are not only Republican but strongly pro-Trump, it would not be surprising if some earlier marriages were annulled, triggering a cascade of legal issues involving wills, spousal rights, and adoption, to name just a few.
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