The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to revisit its landmark 2015 decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide, rejecting an appeal from former Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis.
The justices, in an unsigned order without comment, refused to hear Davis’s case, leaving intact lower court rulings that held her liable for damages after she denied marriage licenses to same-sex couples in defiance of the Supreme Court’s 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling.
Davis, an Apostolic Christian, argued that issuing licenses to same-sex couples would have violated her religious beliefs.
However, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals previously ruled that while the First Amendment protects private religious expression, it does not exempt government officials from performing their duties in accordance with constitutional rights. The court ordered Davis to pay more than $360,000 in damages and legal fees.
The Obergefell decision, a narrow 5–4 ruling, held that the Constitution guarantees same-sex couples the right to marry under the principles of due process and equal protection. Overturning that precedent would have allowed states to reinstate bans on same-sex marriage.
Although several conservative justices dissented in Obergefell, only Justice Clarence Thomas has repeatedly called for its reversal.
Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito have criticized the ruling but have not pushed to overturn it, while Justice Amy Coney Barrett has suggested that some precedents may be revisited but has acknowledged that same-sex marriage is likely settled due to significant reliance interests.
Davis became a national figure in 2015 after refusing to issue marriage licenses in Rowan County, Kentucky, an act that led to her being jailed for six days for contempt of court.
Her deputies ultimately issued the licenses, and her name was later removed from state marriage forms. She went on to lose her bid for reelection in 2018
