US Supreme Court Rejects Bid To Overturn Same-Sex Marriage Rights

The US Supreme Court declined to reconsider its 2015 decision legalizing same-sex marriage, turning away an appeal by a former Kentucky county clerk who was ordered to pay $360,000 for defying the ruling.

The justices without comment left intact a jury finding against Kim Davis, who drew national attention by halting all marriage licenses in Rowan County after the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges ruling.

Although the appeal was a longshot, it drew attention because the Supreme Court has shifted to the right since the 5-4 Obergefell decision. Three members of the 2015 majority are no longer on the court, and two of those were replaced by more conservative Donald Trump appointees.

The Supreme Court stoked concerns about Obergefell in 2022, when it overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion-rights ruling. Justice Clarence Thomas said in a concurring opinion in the abortion case that the court should reconsider the same-sex marriage precedent.

The rebuff of Davis was a victory for David Ermold and David Moore, whom she turned away three times when they tried to get a marriage license in the weeks after the Obergefell ruling. 

Ermold and Moore sued Davis in federal court in Kentucky for violating their constitutional rights. A jury awarded them $50,000 each in damages, and a judge added $260,000 in fees and expenses.

Davis made a variety of contentions in her Supreme Court appeal, pressing arguments about religious rights and sovereign immunity as well as challenging the Obergefell ruling.

She argued that the Constitution “makes no reference to same-sex marriage and no such right is implicitly recognized by any constitutional provision.” 

Ermold and Moore urged the Supreme Court to reject the appeal without a hearing, saying Obergefell has already become part of the nation’s fabric, with almost 800,000 married couples now living in the US.

“Those families were built around the right this court recognized,” Ermold and Moore argued. They also said the Davis appeal was a “poor vehicle” for considering the issue because it wasn’t clear a ruling overturning Obergefell would require the verdict against Davis to be thrown out.

Davis spent five days in jail in 2015 after being held in contempt of court in a separate case. She lost her reelection bid in 2018.

The case is Davis v. Ermold, 25-125.