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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 60th Legislature (2025)
SENATE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION 8 By: Deevers of the Senate
and
Olsen of the House
AS INTRODUCED
A Concurrent Resolution recognizing that marriage is
between one man and one w oman; calling on the Supreme
Court of the United States to overturn Obergefell v.
Hodges; and directing distribution.
WHEREAS, the decision by the Supreme Court of the United States
in Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644 (2015) , conflicts with the
original public meaning of the United States Constitution, the
principles upon which the U nited States is established, and the
deeply rooted history and tradition of the United States regarding
the nature of marriage and state powers; and
WHEREAS, in 2004, the people of Oklahoma affirmed State Question
711, now codified in the Oklahoma Constitution, Article II, Section
35, with over 75% of Oklahomans voting to recognize marriage as the
union of one man and one woman, prohibit marriage benefits for
unmarried individuals, invalidate same -sex marriages from other
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states, and make issuing licenses i n violation of subsection C of
such section a misdemeanor; and
WHEREAS, liberty is and has long been understood , from
Blackstone to the Framers to America ’s history and tradition until
2015, as individual freedom from unwarranted governmental intrusion,
not a right to a particular governmental entitlement as falsely
asserted in Obergefell; and
WHEREAS, when the Framers proclaimed in the Declaration of
Independence that “all men are created equal ” and “endowed by their
Creator with certain unalienable Rights ,” they referred to a vision
of mankind in which all humans are created in the image of God and
therefore of inherent worth; and
WHEREAS, Obergefell asserts that g overnmental licensing of same -
sex marriage is necessary to confer human dignity, contrary to
Justice Clarence Thomas’ observation that, first, “the Constitution
contains no ‘dignity’ Clause,” and second, “even if it did, the
government would be incapable o f bestowing dignity”; and
WHEREAS, Obergefell abuses the Fourteenth Amendment ’s Due
Process clause to fabricate substantive rights, a practice Justice
Thomas has frequently urged the court to abandon, including in Dobbs
v. Jackson Women’s Health Organizati on, 597 U.S. 215 (2022) ; and
WHEREAS, Obergefell’s inversion of the natural and true meaning
of liberty causes collateral damage to other aspects of our
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constitutional order that protect liberty, including religious
liberty; and
WHEREAS, the Supreme Court recognized in United States v.
Windsor, 570 U.S. 744 (2013), that the definition of marriage is “an
area that has long been regarded as a virtually exclusive province
of the States,” meaning that Oklahoma, and not the Supreme Court,
has the right to regula te marriage for its citizens; and
WHEREAS, Obergefell requires states to license and recognize
same-sex marriages in complete contravention of their own
constitutions or electorate, thus undermining the civil liberties of
those states’ residents and voters without any valid constitutional
warrant for doing so; and
WHEREAS, for millennia marriage h as been understood, both in
biblical teaching and in the Anglo -American common-law tradition, as
the lifelong covenant union of one man and one woman; and
WHEREAS, Obergefell arbitrarily and unjustly rejected and
prohibited states from recognizing this definition of marriage in
favor of its own definition of marriage and a novel, flawed
interpretation of key clauses within the United States Constitution
and our nation’s legal and cultural precedents; and
WHEREAS, the Obergefell decision was illegitimate bec ause two of
the Justices in the majority ruling, Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg
and Elena Kagan, had previously officiated same -sex weddings, and
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thus were not impartial triers of fact, and therefore should have
recused themselves according to 28 U.S.C. , Section 455; and
WHEREAS, Chief Justice John Roberts pointed out that the
Obergefell decision vilifies people of faith by “portray[ing]
everyone who does not share th e majority’s ‘better informed
understanding’ as bigoted,” and Justice Samuel Alito wrote similarly
that the Obergefell decision vilifies people of faith by falsely
comparing those who recognize that marriage is between a man and a
woman to those who oppose interracial marriage, a comparison now
frequently weaponized against people of faith; and
WHEREAS, the Obergefell decision has resulted in litigation
directly targeting Christians , such as Colorado baker Jack Phillips
and Washington florist Barronelle Stu tzman, for adhering to the
historic definition of marriage; and
WHEREAS, by declaring sex dif ferences legally irrelevant to
marriage, Obergefell played a role in erasing biological
distinctions in other arenas, threatening women ’s privacy, safety,
and athletic opportunities; and
WHEREAS, in Dobbs v. Jackson Women ’s Health Organization (2022),
the Supreme Court restored to the states authority over areas “the
Constitution does not prohibit the states from regulating, ” thereby
inviting reconsideration of Ober gefell on the same federalism
grounds.
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NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE 1S T SESSION
OF THE 60TH OKLAHOMA LEGISLATURE, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
CONCURRING THEREIN:
THAT the Oklahoma Legislature hereby urges the Supreme Court of
the United States to overturn its unconstitutional holding in
Obergefell v. Hodges and recognize that marriage is between one man
and one woman, or to return full authority over marriage policy to
the several states.
THAT the Oklahoma Legislature reaffirms Article II, Section 35
of the Oklahoma Constitution and Section 3 of Title 43 of the
Oklahoma Statutes.
THAT copies of this resolution be distributed to the Supreme
Court of the United States , to the President of the United States
Senate, to the Speaker of the United States House of
Representatives, to each member of the Oklahoma congressional
delegation, and to the Attorney General of Oklahoma.
60-1-2085 KC 5/1/2025 3:43:13 PM