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S. C. R. No. 532 *SS26/R1408* ~ OFFICIAL ~ N1/2
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To: Rules
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026
By: Senator(s) Chism
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 532
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION CALLING UPON THE SUPREME COURT OF THE 1
UNITED STATES TO OVERTURN THE OBERGEFELL V. HODGES DECISION, AND 2
TO RESTORE THE RIGHTS OF THE STATE TO PRESCRIBE THE CONDITIONS FOR 3
MARRIAGE AND THE DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE. 4
WHEREAS, the decision by the Supreme Court of the United 5
States in Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644 (2015), is at odds 6
with the Constitution of the United States and the principles upon 7
which the United States is established; and 8
WHEREAS, liberty has long been understood as individual 9
freedom from governmental action, not as a right to a particular 10
governmental entitlement; and 11
WHEREAS, Obergefell invokes a definition of "liberty" that 12
the Framers would not have recognized, rejecting the idea 13
memorialized in the Declaration of Independence that human dignity 14
is innate; and 15
WHEREAS, when the Framers proclaimed in the Declaration of 16
Independence that "all men are created equal" and "endowed by 17
their Creator with certain unalienable Rights," they referred to a 18
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vision of mankind in which all humans are created in the image of 19
God and are, therefore, of inherent worth; and 20
WHEREAS, Obergefell undermines this vision by declaring that 21
citizens must seek their identity and self-worth from the 22
government and positive law pronouncements; and 23
WHEREAS, Obergefell relies on the dangerous fiction of 24
treating the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the 25
Constitution as a font of substantive rights, a doctrine that 26
strays from the proper meaning of the Constitution and exalts 27
judges at the expense of the people from whom judges derive their 28
authority; and 29
WHEREAS, Obergefell's inversion of the original meaning of 30
liberty causes collateral damage to other aspects of our 31
constitutional order that protect liberty, including religious 32
liberty; and 33
WHEREAS, the Supreme Court recognized in United States v. 34
Windsor, 57031 U.S. 744 (2013), that the definition of marriage is 35
"an area that has long been regarded as a virtually exclusive 36
province of the states," meaning that the State of Mississippi, 37
and not the Supreme Court, has the right to regulate marriage for 38
its citizens; and 39
WHEREAS, Obergefell requires states to issue marriage 40
licenses to same-sex couples and to recognize same-sex marriages 41
in complete contravention of their own state constitutions and the 42
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will of their voters, thus undermining the civil liberties and 43
democratic institutions of those states' residents and voters; and 44
WHEREAS, marriage as an institution has been recognized as 45
the union of one man and one woman for more than 2,000 years, and 46
within common law, the basis of the United States' Anglo-American 47
legal tradition, for more than 800 years; and 48
WHEREAS, the voters of the State of Mississippi defined 49
marriage as the exclusive union of one man and one woman in a 2004 50
statewide initiative that passed with the support of 86% of 51
voters; and 52
WHEREAS, Obergefell arbitrarily and unjustly rejected this 53
Biblical, ancient and common-law definition of marriage in favor 54
of a novel, flawed and inaccurate interpretation of the 55
Constitution; and 56
WHEREAS, the Obergefell decision was illegitimate because two 57
of the justices in the majority ruling, Justices Ruth Bader 58
Ginsburg and Elena Kagan, had previously officiated same-sex 59
weddings, and thus were not impartial triers of fact, and 60
therefore should have recused themselves according to 28 U.S. Code 61
§ 455; and 62
WHEREAS, since court rulings are not laws and only 63
Legislatures elected by the people may pass laws, Obergefell is an 64
illegitimate overreach: 65
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ST: Urge United States Supreme Court to
overturn Obergefell decision and restore
marriage rights to states.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF 66
MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That 67
the Legislature rejects the Obergefell decision. 68
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Senate, the House of 69
Representatives concurring therein, calls upon the Supreme Court 70
of the United States to reverse the Obergefell decision, to 71
restore the natural and common-law definition of marriage, a union 72
of one man and one woman. 73
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Senate, the House of 74
Representatives concurring therein, insists on restoring the issue 75
of marriage and enforcement of all laws pertaining to marriage to 76
the several states and to the people. 77
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Secretary of the Senate is 78
hereby authorized and directed to forward a certified copy of this 79
resolution to the Supreme Court of the United States. 80
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be made 81
available to the Capitol Press Corps. 82