Much has been made in the media of the possibility of Roe vs. Wade being overturned if Brett Kavanaugh is confirmed to be on the Supreme Court -- and rightfully so. That decision, which has stood for more than four decades, would be in danger.
But there is another much newer decision that would also be in danger -- Obergefell vs. Hodges. Obergefell is the court decision that gave gays and lesbians the same right that all other Americans have -- the right to marry the person they love.
Obergefell was only decided in June of 2015 -- a mere three years ago. That is not long enough to be considered as settled law (as some claim Roe vs. Wade is). And it was decided on a narrow 5 to 4 vote. with Justice Kennedy casting the deciding vote. Kavanaugh is more socially conservative than Kennedy was, and would probably side with the four justices voting against Obergefell -- Roberts, Alito, Thomas, and Scalia (now replaced by equally right-wing Gorsuch).
I believe there is significant danger that Obergefell will be overturned if Kavanaugh is confirmed. And you can bet that the evangelical right will make sure a case gets to the court in a short time.
If it was overturned, that would go against the wishes of a substantial majority of Americans. About 62% of the public says they agree with the verdict, and do not want it to be overturned. That probably wouldn't save Obergefell though, since right-wingers tend to put their own hypocritical ideology over the wishes or needs of the American people.
The chart above reflects the results in a recent Public Religion Research Institute Poll -- done between June 27th and July 8th of a national sample of 2,008 adults, with a margin of error of 2.6 points.
