Supreme Court Reviews Longshot Same-Sex Marriage Case/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ The Supreme Court is reviewing a longshot appeal from Kim Davis, a former Kentucky clerk who refused same-sex marriage licenses. Her case aims to challenge the 2015 Obergefell ruling that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. The justices could announce whether they’ll hear the case as early as Monday.
Supreme Court Review Quick Looks
- The Supreme Court will consider Kim Davis’ appeal on Friday.
- Davis defied the 2015 ruling legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide.
- She seeks to avoid paying $360,000 in court-ordered damages.
- Her legal team cites Justice Clarence Thomas’ past criticism of the Obergefell decision.
- Justices Roberts and Alito also dissented in 2015 but haven’t pushed to reverse it.
- Amy Coney Barrett has suggested abortion and marriage rulings aren’t the same.
- The case is widely viewed as a longshot to overturn Obergefell.
- Davis was jailed in 2015 for refusing to issue licenses, lost reelection in 2018.
Supreme Court Reviews Longshot Same-Sex Marriage Case
Deep Look
The Supreme Court is set to quietly consider a high-profile appeal that once again brings same-sex marriage into the national spotlight. On Friday, the justices will meet privately to discuss whether to hear a case brought by Kim Davis, the former Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples following the Court’s landmark 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges.
While Davis’ appeal is broadly seen as a legal longshot, it revives a debate many believed had been settled a decade ago when the Court recognized a constitutional right to same-sex marriage.
At the heart of Davis’ petition is not just her refusal to comply with the Obergefell decision, but her legal liability for doing so. After denying a marriage license to a same-sex couple, she was sued and later ordered by a lower court to pay $360,000 in damages and attorneys’ fees. Davis is now asking the Supreme Court to reverse that order — and in doing so, reconsider the ruling that made same-sex marriage the law of the land.
The Court could announce as soon as Monday whether it will take up the case.
The Justices’ Stances and Signals
Davis’ legal team heavily leans on the words of Justice Clarence Thomas, the Court’s most vocal critic of Obergefell. Thomas has previously written that the ruling “bypassed democratic debate” and hinted it should be overturned. He is the only current justice to openly call for the ruling to be reversed.
Two others — Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito — also dissented in 2015. However, neither has publicly called for the decision to be overturned since. Alito, while continuing to express criticism, stated recently that he was not advocating for reversal. Roberts, for his part, has remained largely silent on the issue.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett, appointed after Obergefell, has expressed a broader view that some rulings should be overturned if wrongly decided — a sentiment she affirmed during the 2022 decision that ended federal abortion protections. However, Barrett has also suggested that marriage rights may be different because many couples have relied on Obergefell to make life decisions like marriage and child-rearing. That “reliance interest” could make the Court more reluctant to revisit the ruling.
Kim Davis’ Defiance and Legal Consequences
Davis became a national figure in 2015 when she refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in Rowan County, Kentucky, citing her religious beliefs. She continued to resist compliance even after federal courts ordered her to do so, ultimately landing her in jail for contempt of court.
She was released only after her staff began issuing the licenses in her absence, though her name was removed from the official forms. The controversy led the Kentucky legislature to pass a law removing all clerks’ names from marriage licenses statewide — a compromise solution to the standoff.
The legal battle didn’t end there. Davis was sued by couples she turned away, and courts later ruled she had violated their constitutional rights. Her appeal now rests on the argument that she should not be personally liable for acting according to her beliefs — an argument lower courts have firmly rejected.
Broader Implications for Same-Sex Marriage Rights
While the Court has not signaled an appetite to revisit Obergefell, the Davis appeal taps into an ongoing legal and political tension over how far religious liberty can go in allowing government officials to defy federal law. That’s a question the Court has grappled with before — in cases involving bakers, photographers, and website designers who declined to serve same-sex weddings.
But overturning Obergefell would be a seismic shift — one that legal analysts agree remains unlikely, at least for now.
The current Court, though more conservative than the one that decided Obergefell, has so far refrained from taking up direct challenges to the ruling. Still, some worry that as with abortion, what once seemed settled law could be reconsidered if the right case — and the right political momentum — presents itself.
For now, Davis’ case will serve as a test of how far the Court is willing to go, and whether the justices are open to reexamining the constitutional protections granted under Obergefell.
What Happens Next
The Supreme Court’s decision could come early next week. The justices may simply decline to hear the case, allowing the lower court ruling to stand and reaffirming the 2015 precedent — without making a broader constitutional statement.
If they do agree to hear the case, it would immediately thrust same-sex marriage rights back into the national legal debate, potentially setting the stage for a major showdown over religious freedom, individual accountability, and the limits of landmark civil rights decisions.
Kim Davis, once a defiant local official, may now be at the center of a broader reckoning — one that tests both the legacy of Obergefell v. Hodges and the durability of Supreme Court precedent in a post-Roe America.
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