Kim Davis Marks Anniversary of Landmark Same-Sex Marriage Ruling

Kim Davis, a former County Clerk in Kentucky, is reflecting on the 10th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s ruling that legalized same-sex marriage throughout the country. This landmark decision occurred back in June 2015, shortly before Davis was briefly jailed for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Now, her attorney, representing a Christian nonprofit organization, has filed a 90-page petition to have the Supreme Court reconsider a ruling from the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals regarding her refusal to issue licenses following the Obergefell decision. This earlier ruling affirmed that Davis had violated the constitutional rights of David Ahmold and David Moore.

In 2023, a federal judge mandated that Davis pay $260,000 in attorney fees to Ahmold and Moore due to her earlier actions.

Davis claimed that granting licenses to same-sex couples contradicted her religious beliefs as a reborn Christian and that it misrepresented “God’s definition of marriage.” Her legal team contended that her refusal was protected under her rights to free speech and religious expression.

In a March ruling, a three-judge panel from the Sixth Circuit determined that Davis couldn’t use the First Amendment as a defense, stating that her actions fell outside its protections in this context.

Liberty Counsel has urged the Supreme Court to overturn both the Sixth Circuit’s ruling and the Obergefell decision itself. They argue that Davis’s case highlights a pressing need for reevaluation, suggesting that the previous ruling compromises the religious freedoms of those who view marriage as a sacred union between one man and one woman.

The petition asserts that Obergefell was fundamentally flawed when decided, especially in light of recent discussions in the Dobbsv. Jackson Women’s Health Center case. The group argues that the ruling is based on a flawed interpretation of substantive due process.

Bill Powell, representing Ahmold and Moore, expressed skepticism about the chances of the Supreme Court taking up Davis’s case. He noted that one judge on the appeals court showed little interest in her petition, and he believes the Supreme Court is likely to agree.

In 2020, the High Court declined to intervene in Davis’s appeal. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, who have previously opposed the Obergefell decision, chose not to take up Davis’s case, but used the opportunity to voice their concerns about the implications of the ruling for religious individuals.

As of June, Southern Baptists overwhelmingly voted to affirm a resolution against same-sex marriage and called for a reversal of the Obergefell ruling. Meanwhile, support for same-sex marriage remains high across the nation, even though recent polls indicate a decline in Republican backing for marriage equality, dropping to 41% over the past decade. In another survey, however, 56% of Republicans expressed support for same-sex marriage.