WASHINGTON (LOOTPRESS) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to reconsider its landmark 2015 ruling that established a constitutional right to same-sex marriage, rejecting a request from former Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis.
Davis, who served as the Rowan County clerk, gained national attention for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples following the Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges. That decision held that the 14th Amendment guarantees the right to marry for same-sex couples.
Shortly after the ruling, then-Gov. Steve Beshear instructed all Kentucky county clerks to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Davis refused, citing her religious belief that marriage should only be between a man and a woman. Her refusal led Kentucky to eventually remove clerks’ names from marriage licenses, but until that change, Davis and her deputies denied licenses to multiple couples, including David Moore and David Ermold.
Moore and Ermold requested a license from the Rowan County Clerk’s Office just ten days after the Obergefell decision. Davis denied their request, telling them she was acting “under God’s authority” and directing them to apply in another county. The couple sued, alleging their constitutional right to marry had been violated. They ultimately obtained a license from a deputy clerk in September 2015, after Davis was jailed for five days for defying a court order.
The couple later sought monetary damages, and a jury awarded them $50,000 each. Davis appealed, arguing that issuing the license would have violated her First Amendment religious rights. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit rejected her claim, ruling that government officials must uphold constitutional rights when performing their official duties.
“In their private lives, officials are free to follow their faith. But when wielding state power against citizens, conscience must yield to the Constitution,” Judge Helene White wrote. The court warned that accepting Davis’ argument could allow officials to refuse service based on personal beliefs, including opposing interracial marriage or religious freedoms.
Davis petitioned the Supreme Court to review the 6th Circuit’s ruling and to overturn Obergefell. The petition raised concerns about the stability of same-sex marriage rights, especially after the court’s 2022 reversal of Roe v. Wade. Justice Clarence Thomas suggested reconsidering a number of past decisions based on substantive due process, including the right to same-sex marriage and contraception. However, no other justice joined Thomas’ opinion, and a majority appeared unlikely to support overturning Obergefell.
The Supreme Court’s refusal to take up the case leaves the constitutional right to same-sex marriage intact.
