Six Navajo presidential candidates pledge to repeal same-sex marriage ban

For Navajo couples in Gallup and Zuni, the promise to repeal the same-sex marriage ban is no longer just campaign language. It reaches into health coverage, survivor rights and whether a spouse is treated as family by the Navajo government.

Six presidential candidates pledged last week to repeal the Navajo Nation’s ban on same-sex marriage, even though the law remains on the books. The debate now carries a sharper practical edge because a legal opinion issued last fall already directs the Executive Branch to recognize same-sex marriages performed outside the Navajo Nation for employment benefits and spousal rights.

That opinion, AG-04-25, came from the Navajo Nation Department of Justice on Oct. 21, 2025. It says the Executive Branch must recognize marriages validly performed outside the Navajo Nation for all entitlement and benefit purposes, and it says no adverse action may be taken against Navajo government officials or employees who follow that guidance. The opinion also concludes that the Diné Marriage Act of 2005 violates the Navajo Nation Bill of Rights when it voids same-sex marriages performed outside the Navajo Nation.

The gap between the executive opinion and the law is what makes the candidates’ pledge matter in day-to-day life. The Diné Marriage Act, adopted in 2005 by the 20th Navajo Nation Council, still stands unless it is amended or repealed. That means a family could face one rule for benefits administration and another for the underlying marriage code until the legal conflict is resolved.

The repeal fight itself has been active for years. On June 23, 2023, during the Navajo Nation Pride opening ceremony, Delegate Seth Damon sponsored Legislation 0139-23 to repeal Title 9 of the Navajo Nation Code and recognize same-sex marriages within the Navajo Nation. The Health, Education and Human Services Standing Committee approved the measure on July 26, 2023. Reporting on that effort said the change would not alter the traditional Navajo wedding ceremony for a man and woman.

The 24th Navajo Nation Council also passed a resolution establishing Diné Pride Week for every third week in June, adding another sign that the issue has moved from the margins into the center of Navajo politics. For McKinley County families tied to the Navajo Nation through work, housing and shared institutions, the next question is no longer whether candidates support repeal. It is when they would act, how they would win the votes, and how tribal agencies would enforce the change.