US Supreme Court denies Kim Davis’s appeal to overturn same-sex marriage ruling
"Today, love won again," says Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign
By Aaron Sugg
Kim Davis’s appeal seeking to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges has been denied, as the US Supreme Court ruling legalising same-sex marriage remains in force nationwide.
Davis, a former Kentucky county clerk who was sued by a gay couple after she denied them marriage licenses, asked the highest court to reconsider the law legalising same-sex marriage nationwide.
The US Supreme Court reportedly met on Friday to discuss the request to overturn same-sex marriage and, on 10 November, declined her appeal.
“Today, love won again” – Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign on the US Supreme Court decision
With no detailed explanation for rejecting the case, Davis continues to face hundreds of thousands of dollars in emotional damages and legal fees owed to the couple who sued her.
Her request to have $100,000 in damages and $260,000 in attorneys’ fees waived was also denied.
Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement: “Today, love won again.”
“That promise extends to everyone – including LGBTQ+ people” – Robinson on same-sex marriage
She added, “When public officials take an oath to serve their communities, that promise extends to everyone – including LGBTQ+ people. The Supreme Court made clear today that refusing to respect the constitutional rights of others does not come without consequences.”
In 2022, the Supreme Court’s 6-3 conservative majority overturned Roe v. Wade, eliminating the constitutional right to abortion and sparking fears that Obergefell could be the next precedent at risk.
Jim Obergefell, the plaintiff in Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalised gay marriage in the US in 2015, expressed concern prior to the decision.
In an interview with Advocate, he said, “This modern version of religious freedom – this belief that one’s personal religion trumps everything else – is a twisting and perverting of what our founders intended.”