Could SCOTUS roll back same-sex marriage? Local LGBTQ+ families rush to protect themselves

CHICAGO (WLS) -- As CEO of Equality Illinois, Brian Johnson's life's work is protecting LGBTQ+ rights.

But with a second Donald Trump administration, it has become personal, as Johnson is worried about his own family.

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"The risk is not just about my relationship with my husband. The risk is to our entire family and the unit that we have created to protect our daughter," Johnson said.

Since Trump was elected, Johnson says, Equality Illinois has received dozens of phone calls, emails and social media messages from gay married couples who are concerned that the Trump administration will undermine their federal rights to marriage equality.

"We know that there are fierce opponents to our relationships who are coming to power in Washington that will do whatever they can in the most creative ways possible to chip away at our rights," Johnson said.

The concern is a conservative U.S. Supreme Court may overturn marriage equality and Congress may scale back the Respect for Marriage Act.

"Some of the courts that became so extreme under the Trump administration might go out of their way to try to take steps to undermine existing precedents that protect LGBTQ people," said Lambda Legal Midwest Litigation Director Camilla Taylor.

Taylor says gay couples have the right to be worried, but she says the attack on the trans community is the most immediate threat.

"If you can get a passport now, with an accurate gender marker, now is the time to renew your passport," Taylor said.

And Johnson is telling people worried about their marriages to shore up relationships with extra legal protections like powers of attorney, wills and trusts.

"You know, if you are thinking about getting married, now might the time to do so," Johnson said.

But Equality Illinois and Lambda Legal are encouraging the LGBTQ+ residents not to panic. Illinois laws are very protective for gay marriages and the trans community.