Supreme Court Formally Asked to Overturn Gay Marriage

Ten years ago, the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. Now, for the first time since then, they’re formally being asked to overturn that ruling.

The case is being brought by former Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis, who made headlines in 2015 for denying a marriage license to a gay couple following the nationwide legalization of gay marriage due to Obergefell v. Hodges.

Now, nearly a decade of legal troubles and a mountain of debt, she’s seeking legal restitution – and LGBTQ+ activists fear that she may have the sympathies of a heavily conservative Supreme Court.

Is same-sex marriage in trouble?

The Return of Kim Davis

As the Rowan County clerk, a significant part of Kim Davis’ job was to issue marriage licenses to couples. But in 2015, following the nationwide legalization of gay marriage, Davis stopped issuing marriage licenses to gay couples “under God’s authority,” arguing that doing so violated her sincerely-held religious beliefs in the sanctity of marriage.

Amid a lawsuit from one of the aggrieved couples, Davis refused to budge or resign her post, and she was jailed for contempt of court. A jury verdict ordered her to pay $100,000 to the couple for emotional damages and she owes the couple $260,000 in attorneys’ fees.

Davis is now formally petitioning the Supreme Court to overturn Obergefell, with her attorney Matthew Staver arguing it was “egregiously wrong,” “deeply damaging,” and “far outside the bounds of any reasonable interpretation of the various constitutional provisions to which it vaguely pointed.”

“The U.S. Supreme Court should overturn the wrongly decided Obergefell v. Hodges opinion,” says Staver, “because it threatens the religious liberty of Americans who believe that marriage is a sacred union between one man and one woman.”

Will Gay Marriage Be Overturned?

Will Obergefell be overturned? That was the fear that many had back when the Supreme Court decided to roll back Roe v. Wade in 2022.

In his concurrent opinion with the Roe reversal, Justice Clarence Thomas even showed his eagerness to revisit other Court rulings based on substantive due process, including the rulings which legalized contraception access, same-sex marriage, and even gay sexual intimacy. 

The Obergefell ruling is one which Davis’ own attorney calls “legal fiction,” and at least a few on the nation’s highest court agree. With a 6-3 conservative majority, and with Justice Thomas and Alito both openly showing interest in revisiting Obergefell, many anti-gay activists believe now is the time to strike.

And Davis’ case is of major interest to them because she’s believed to be one of the few individuals in the United States with the legal ground to bring a relevant case to the nation’s highest court.

What Happens if Obergefell Falls?

So what happens if Davis has her day in court, and they side with her?

32 states have enforceable laws on the books banning gay marriage. That means that in an instant, same-sex marriage would be illegal in more than half of U.S. states. In anticipation of a future legal challenge to Obergefell, then-President Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act into law, which ensures federal recognition of same-sex marriages. 

The Supreme Court will decide this fall whether to take Davis’ case, and should they accept, it will likely be heard next spring. But Supreme Court watchdogs say that some of the Court’s justices – Kavanaugh, Coney Barrett, and Gorsuch – seem disinterested in taking the case.

Still, LGBTQ+ activists say that Kim Davis’ case represents the largest risk yet to marriage equality – and they fear that in just a year, same-sex marriage could be wiped out in more than half of the states.

What is your prediction? Will the Court take up Kim Davis’ case? What will happen if marriage equality disappears?