THE U.S. Supreme Court Has Rejected An Appeal By Kim Davis, A Former Kentucky County Clerk Who Refused To Issue Marriage Licenses To Same-Sex Couples After The Court’s Landmark 2015 Ruling Legalizing Same-Sex Marriage Nationwide. Davis Argued That Issuing Such Licenses Went Against Her Religious Beliefs.
Lower Courts Had Ruled Against Davis, Ordering Her To Pay More Than $360,000 In Damages And Legal Fees. She Claimed Her Actions Were Protected Under The First Amendment’s Freedom Of Religion, But The Supreme Court Declined To Review Her Case.
Lawyers For The Couple Who Sued Davis Said The Court’s Decision Reaffirms That Same-Sex Couples Have A Constitutional Right To Marry, As Established In The Obergefell V. Hodges Case. “This Is A Win For Equality And Families Built On That Right,” Said Attorney William Powell.
Conservative Activists, Including Davis’s Lawyer Mat Staver, Said They Will Continue Efforts To Overturn Obergefell, Arguing It Lacks Constitutional Basis. The Court, Which Now Has A 6-3 Conservative Majority, Has Grown More Right-Leaning In Recent Years—Especially After Overturning Roe V. Wade In 2022.