How did LGBTQ+ families help shape this historical moment — and what can we learn from that victory to inform the work ahead? To kick off Pride 2025, recognize the 10th anniversary of Obergefell v. Hodges, and honor LGBTQ+ Families Day, Family Equality sat down with five outspoken change-makers to discuss the state of marriage equality ten years later, the power of storytelling, and the role that everyday LGBTQ+ families played—and can continue to play—in making history.

Ten years ago this month, marriage equality was granted nationwide in a Supreme Court decision called Obergefell v Hodges. But the fight for marriage equality started long before 2015.

“[We have] over seven decades of our brave history, beginning from people who were just brave enough to take a photo of their relationship so that we would know—a hundred years later—that they existed,” said Frankie Frankeny, the creator and director of the JustMarried project, who shared the stories of Hillary and Julie Goodridge and Karen Thompson and Sharon Kowalski during the webinar.

Frankie was joined in the panel in part by Kinsey Morrison, the named individual in Family Equality’s Voices of Children briefs and Jim Obergefell, the named plaintiff in Obergefell v Hodges. Together, their stories illustrate the truth of the movement for marriage equality: As much as this is a tale of a few brave, powerful historical figures—it’s also a story of the everyday families who spoke up and advocated for what was right.

In late 2012, amid rising support for marriage equality nationwide, the Supreme Court agreed to hear two landmark cases on marriage equality: Hollingsworth v Perry and United States v Windsor. To highlight the role that marriage played, and can play, on the children of LGBTQ+ parents, Family Equality and movement partners set out to draft a “friend of the court” brief. They interviewed dozens of LGBTQ+ youth and families including panelist Kinsey Morrison.

This work was led by panelist Emily Hecht-McGowan, Family Equality’s former Chief Policy Officer, who noted in the webinar that spotlighting families was a new—albeit effective—approach. “It’s not just about two people. [It’s about] their kids going to school every day and hearing that their families are not as worthy as other families…When we finally started putting faces on these legal issues, I think that’s where we really started to turn.”

“There was this recognition that the compelling argument [was that] marriage equality benefited our kids. It provided them legal protections. It made them understand that their families were real and mattered and were authentic,” noted Steve Majors, former Director of Communications in the video featured in the event.

The influence of the stories told by the Voices of Children briefs can be found in the history books: Justice Anthony Kennedy referenced the brief in oral arguments for United States v Windsor and his opinion in Obergefell v Hodges. “He read it, clearly,” said Hecht-McGowan.

“I think that brief was enough to cement Justice Kennedy, which is what won us the case,” noted former Chief Policy Officer, Denise Brogan-Kator in the featured video.

But the overall impact of these storytellers, and all those who contributed to the movement for marriage equality, stretches far beyond Supreme Court Justices. In the panel, Obergefell talked about meeting an evangelical Republican in the courtroom during oral arguments. “Rob turned to me, shook my hand, and thanked me for doing the right thing in fighting for marriage equality. Then, he told me that our story changed his mind…That’s the moment when it really hit me over the head: Stories and storytelling really do change hearts and minds.”

Morrison noted that sharing her story didn’t only change hearts and minds—it helped other members of the community feel seen, safe, and less scared. “Especially in Kentucky, when I was in high school, kids who were gay or trans or maybe had gay parents themselves said that because I shared about my family, they felt more comfortable coming out or sharing about their family, too. Knowing I had the power to make them feel a little bit braver—to know that they had at least one person in that room who was going to protect them and fight for them—that, to me, is more motivating than anything.”

Of course, the work for full lived and legal equality didn’t end with marriage equality ten years ago. Today, we continue to face overwhelming threats to our freedoms. In 2024 alone, we witnessed more than 550 anti-LGBTQ+ bills in states across the country—many targeting LGBTQ+ youth and families in particular.

Luce Remy, Family Equality’s Vice President of Public Policy, noted that the courts signaled threats to marriage equality beginning with the decision to overturn Roe v Wade in 2022. Even more pressing, trans community members face attacks on life-saving healthcare, safety, authenticity, and well-being.

“We have seen the fruits of our labors, but now, we’re seeing the backlash to the fruits of our labors,” said Remy. “The backlash to actually being so effective at telling a really compassionate and compelling story.”

With this backlash in mind, Remy warned against relying on the federal courts to protect and expand civil rights. She said, “We now need to go, frankly, back to the states….We had a lot of mini DOMAs [in the states]. We still have to go back…where you have community, where to have the apparatus, [and say] let’s repeal all of those constitutional amendments. Let’s repeal those statutory bills.”

She also stressed the progress we continue to make, recognizing momentum around parentage and laws that protect and respect the diversity of families and the way they’re formed. Hecht-McGowan further highlighted the push-and-pull nature of equality work.

“You go forward, you move back…You will always be fighting against people who are trying to deny you your truth, your access.” But, Hecht-McGowan allowed, “You can’t put the genie back in the bottle. You can’t take away what I’ve experienced as a human being married to my wife. What my kids’ experience is. What our community’s experience is….There are certain things they can roll back at the courts, the state level, the federal level. But, you can’t take away what we already know to be true: We exist. We’re not going anywhere, and we’re going to keep fighting until we reach what we need to reach.”

What does this mean for LGBTQ+ families? How can we “keep fighting until we reach what we need to reach?”

“Keep telling your story,” said Frankeny. “Whether you’re telling them to your sister, family member, friend, colleague, clients…Stories are what shaped the law. They’re what changed public opinion, and when public opinion changes enough, the courts follow along.”

Learn more about the JustMarried project, which includes a book, serialized podcast, global substack, and docuseries! Proceeds from the book will help support Family Equality’s work protecting and supporting LGBTQ+ families across the U.S.!