BOISE, Idaho — Dozens of LGBTQ+ rights advocates rallied at the Idaho State Capitol Sunday to protest a legislative petition that calls on the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its landmark same-sex marriage ruling.
The demonstration came four days after the House State Affairs Committee approved a memorial asking the high court to reverse its 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision, which legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.
“One day, I want to marry someone that I love just as much as my counterparts,” said one of the rally organizers, Cole Lancaster.
Lancaster said his dreams of marriage feel increasingly threatened in his home state.
State lawmakers backing the memorial argue that marriage regulations should be determined at the state level rather than by federal mandate.
“I don’t think marriage is a fundamental right,” said Heather Scott, the petition’s sponsor. “It’s not the federal government’s job to figure out what’s going on in Idaho.”
Scott said the goal isn’t to take away rights but rather to transfer conversations like same-sex marriage to the state level so Idaho lawmakers can decide for themselves.
“What we’re encouraging is that these discussions happen within the state, with our local people, instead of through the federal government,” Scott said.
But protesters expressed deep skepticism about putting their marriage rights in the hands of state legislators. Many wrote letters to lawmakers explaining what their marriages and equal rights meant to them personally.
“Our marriages don’t affect anyone else,” Lancaster said. “We’re here, we’re queer, and we’re going to be heard, and we’re not going anywhere.”
Protesters vowed to continue fighting against the memorial and any other attempts to roll back marriage equality.
“We’re telling people in the Capitol building that we don’t want this initiative to continue any further,” Lancaster said.
