Key Takeaways
- US Supreme Court rejects appeal to overturn same-sex marriage ruling
- Kim Davis’s challenge to $360,000 damages order dismissed
- Only Justice Clarence Thomas has called for erasing the 2015 decision
The US Supreme Court has rejected an appeal seeking to overturn its landmark 2015 decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. The justices turned away former Kentucky clerk Kim Davis’s challenge without comment, leaving intact lower court orders requiring her to pay $360,000 in damages.
Legal Challenge Dismissed
Davis had appealed to the Supreme Court to overturn a ruling that held her liable for refusing marriage licenses to same-sex couples following the Obergefell v. Hodges decision. Her legal team repeatedly cited Justice Clarence Thomas, who remains the only current justice calling for the same-sex marriage ruling to be erased.
Divided Court History
Thomas was among four dissenting justices in the original 2015 ruling. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, the other remaining dissenters, have taken different approaches since. Roberts has remained silent on the matter, while Alito continues to criticize the decision but recently stated he isn’t advocating for its overturn.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who joined the court after the original ruling, has suggested same-sex marriage might deserve different consideration than abortion rights because “people have relied on the decision when they married and had children.”
Reactions and Consequences
Human Rights Campaign president Kelley Robinson welcomed the court’s decision, stating: “The Supreme Court made clear today that refusing to respect the constitutional rights of others does not come without consequences.”
Davis gained national attention in 2015 when she defied court orders to issue marriage licenses, citing religious objections. She was jailed for contempt of court before her staff began issuing licenses without her name. Kentucky later changed its law to remove all county clerks’ names from marriage licenses.
Davis lost her reelection bid in 2018, ending her tenure as Rowan County clerk.
