Attempt to Scrap Gay Marriage Heads to Supreme Court
Kim Davis makes a statement to the media in Morehead, Kentucky, on Sept. 14, 2015. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley, file)
The U.S. Supreme Court is preparing to decide whether it will hear an appeal from Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples following the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.
Davis, who spent several days in jail for defying that landmark ruling, is asking the high court to overturn it—arguing that her First Amendment right to religious freedom should protect her from liability. According to ABC News, justices will discuss Davis’s petition in a private conference on Friday, with four votes needed to move the case forward. A decision on whether the Court will take the case is expected early next week.
Lower courts have already ruled against Davis, ordering her to pay damages to one of the couples she denied a marriage license. She continues to argue that Obergefell was a “legal fiction” and that her religious convictions should shield her from punishment. Her attorney called the case one of “exceptional importance,” noting that Davis became the first person jailed for refusing to comply with same-sex marriage laws on religious grounds.
Legal experts, however, view her chances as slim, pointing out that no appellate judges supported her last appeal. Attorneys for the couple maintain that Davis violated her official duties and that her First Amendment claims do not excuse that.
If the Supreme Court agrees to hear the case, it would mark the first formal challenge to Obergefell in a decade. Dan Canon, a law professor at the University of Louisville, told the Courier Journal that such a move would be a “four-alarm fire,” saying, “If they take it, it’s because they’re going to overturn it.”
Davis’s legal team has frequently cited Justice Clarence Thomas, who has publicly criticized the 2015 ruling and suggested it should be revisited.
The case comes as several states, including Texas, have advanced legislation allowing judges to refuse to perform same-sex weddings on religious grounds. The Obergefell decision remains in effect, and the federal Respect for Marriage Act requires all states to recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere.
More than 800,000 same-sex couples are currently married in the United States, many of whom are raising families.
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