A decade after Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage, are rights ‘under threat’?

By the time the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage on June 26, 2015, Paul Dombrowski, 62, and Joe Serio, 54, had already been married a year.

The Palatine couple had been in love for nearly two decades and entered into a civil union when Illinois legalized them in 2011. After the state legalized same-sex marriage three years later, they “got an upgrade.”

“Once it became apparent marriage equality was attainable, we spent a fair amount of time advocating for it,” said Serio, who along with his husband and others in the LGBTQ+ community were devastated by the failure of early attempts to enshrine marriage equality.

But as Serio says, “discouragement ultimately leads to determination.”

The Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges legalized same-sex marriage nationwide and ensured that states across the country recognized unions like that of Serio and Dombrowski.

“The change in the law allowed the life we built with each other to be protected,” Serio said.

But as Dombrowski notes, “Those rights could be taken away.”

Jason Molina understands that fear.

“It scares me,” admits the Arlington Heights resident, who married his husband Marc Freiman on April 26, after four years of dating. “We don't know what's around the next corner.”

“Everything that marriage stands for, I believe in” he added. And if their union isn't recognized by others, “it's recognized in my heart.”

Freiman said that while their relationship “is more important than a piece of paper,” the benefits of marriage, including legal protections, are important.

“It comes down to legal rights and peace of mind,” he said.

And if Obergfell is someday overturned?

“We'll always have each other and we'll always have that day,” Molina said.

Not every married couple — same-sex or otherwise — gets their happily ever after.

Amanda Littauer, 49, married her former wife in 2008 in San Francisco. Illinois recognized their marriage when the couple moved to the state the following year.

The St. Charles mother of two said having rights granted by marriage was helpful when she separated from her partner in 2020, because it provided a framework for settling financial and custody issues. The couple divorced in 2024.

Before Obergfell, the couple feared their marriage and their daughters’ adoptions would not be honored by other states when they traveled. They carried copies of their marriage license, adoption certificates and power-of-attorney documents that gave each the right to make choices about medical care for the children and for one another.

All of which “requires money and privilege to be able to pay lawyers to do that shoring up,” said Littauer, who serves on the board of Belong: Fox Valley, a nonprofit, LGBTQ advocacy group that sponsors social events for families and adults.

The 2015 Supreme Court decision “made almost all of what we did unnecessary,” she said.

Littauer notes other marriage benefits, including the ability to file a joint income tax return.

“It really does make a huge difference,” she said.

Losing the right to marry would be devastating.

“It’s a really scary time to be a queer (or) trans person,” said Littauer, who is concerned that gender-affirming health care, reproductive health care and gender self-determination are under threat.

“Same-sex marriage does little to protect those,” she said. “As important as marriage is, it is not everything.”

Kevin Morrison, the first openly LGBTQ member of the Cook County Board, agrees.

“We need to ensure our entire community is safe,” said Morrison, a Mount Prospect resident who represents the county board’s 15th District.

The Elk Grove Village native's experience being bullied as a youngster inspired his efforts to “push for equity for all.”

Morrison says the possibility the Supreme Court may someday diminish the LGBTQ community's civil rights terrifies him, but he is encouraged by “people coming together with a consolidated effort, fighting back against rights that are under threat.”

“We need to hold elected officials accountable and be mindful that the people we elect will fight tooth and nail every day to protect our rights,” he said. “We are living in troubling times.”

Like Morrison, retired elementary school art teacher Dombrowski and therapist Serio recognize challenges remain for the LGBTQ+ community.

“One of things that makes LGBTQIA+ community so unique is our ability to rally around each other,” Serio said.

“We've always had to do that,” Dombrowski adds. “We're fighters.”

· Daily Herald staff writer Susan Sarkauskas contributed to this report.