The Supreme Court of the United States on Monday turned away a bid to revisit its landmark 2015 decision that legalized same-sex marriage across the nation. The court declined to hear the appeal brought by Kim Davis, the former Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Her legal team had explicitly urged the court to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, arguing the ruling was “egregiously wrong.”
Case Background and Legal Stakes
Davis’s petition sought relief from a lower-court ruling that ordered her to pay more than $360,000 in damages and attorney’s fees after denying a lesbian couple a license. She argued her First Amendment free exercise rights were violated, and her attorneys invoked the language of Clarence Thomas, the only justice who has publicly called for erasing the Obergefell decision.
Even though the Court’s current 6-3 conservative majority had raised speculation about revisiting precedents such as abortion rights, legal analysts said a repeal of same-sex marriage rights seemed unlikely this time. “There are significant differences between marriage equality and abortion,” one scholar noted, pointing out that the 2015 ruling rests on both the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses.
By refusing to take up the case, the Supreme Court effectively lets the Obergefell ruling remain intact — at least for now. Advocates for marriage equality welcomed the decision. Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson said in a statement, “It is crucial that the rights of millions of married couples and their families be honoured.”
Nevertheless, the decision does not fully shut the door on future challenges. Some states still have laws or constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage on the books — dormant but enforceable if Obergefell were reversed.
For now, married same-sex couples can breathe easier, though many acknowledge vigilance remains necessary. “Your rights aren’t solid, they can change,” said one married LGBTQ person.