Supreme Court Shuts Down Kim Davis’ Final Bid to Undo Same-Sex Marriage Rights
The Supreme Court quietly closed the door on one of the last
remaining challenges to same-sex marriage rights in the United States. On
Monday, the justices declined to hear former Kentucky clerk Kim Davis’ appeal,
ending her long and high-profile fight against issuing marriage licenses to
same-sex couples.
Here’s the thing—Davis has been at the center of this battle
since 2015, when she refused to issue licenses after the court’s landmark
ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges. That decision made marriage equality the
law of the land. Davis pushed back, citing her religious beliefs, and even
spent six days in jail after repeatedly defying court orders.
Two men she turned away, David Moore and David Ermold,
eventually won their lawsuit. A jury awarded them $100,000 in damages, and
Davis was ordered to pay additional attorney fees. She appealed, arguing that
her First Amendment right to religious freedom should protect her from being
personally liable.
Her latest petition went even further. She urged the Supreme
Court to reconsider Obergefell itself—a move that grabbed headlines but
had virtually no chance of success. And on Monday, the justices confirmed that
by rejecting her appeal without comment.
Why does this matter? Because some LGBTQ+ advocates had
feared that the conservative-leaning court might seriously entertain her case,
especially after the 2022 Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
Justice Clarence Thomas had previously hinted that rulings tied to privacy
rights—including contraception, same-sex intimacy, and same-sex marriage—should
be revisited. But the rest of the court hasn’t shown interest in dismantling
marriage equality.
Justice Samuel Alito has argued that abortion is a unique
legal category involving “potential life,” while other personal rights stand on
entirely different ground. And Justice Amy Coney Barrett, in her recent book,
describes the right to marry as a fundamental constitutional liberty supported
by broad public consensus.
The numbers back that up. The Williams Institute at UCLA
estimates more than 823,000 same-sex couples are married in the United States,
raising nearly 300,000 children.
Davis’ legal strategy had already failed at every level.
Federal judges repeatedly ruled that public officials can’t ignore the
Constitution or their duties because of personal beliefs. One judge put it
plainly: in private life, faith is protected—but using government power to deny
rights is a different story.
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals also warned of the chaos
her argument could unleash. If a clerk could refuse licenses to same-sex
couples on religious grounds, what would stop others from refusing interracial
couples, women voters, or members of a different faith?
Even a Trump-appointed judge on the panel said Davis went
far beyond any legitimate religious accommodation—she imposed a blanket ban on
marriage licenses that every employee in her office had to follow.
Now, after years of litigation, the Supreme Court has ended
the saga. Obergefell stands untouched. Same-sex marriage remains a
protected constitutional right. And Kim Davis’ legal fight is officially over.
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