The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up a challenge that could have reopened the question of whether same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry, leaving intact its 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges.
The justices rejected an appeal from Kim Davis, the former Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples after Obergefell was decided. The court did not provide an explanation for turning down the petition, a move that ends Davis’ long-running legal battle and leaves her liable for hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages and legal fees.
The decision was closely watched by both supporters and opponents of same-sex marriage, who viewed the Davis case as a potential vehicle for the high court’s 6-3 Republican-appointed majority to revisit Obergefell. The court’s decision four years ago to overturn Roe v. Wade had raised fears among homosexual advocates that the marriage precedent might also be reconsidered.
While the denial sets no new precedent, it signals that a majority of the justices are not eager to reopen one of the court’s most contentious rulings in recent history.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett recently told The New York Times that same-sex marriage involves “very concrete reliance interests,” while Justice Samuel Alito, though critical of Obergefell, described it as “a precedent of the court that is entitled to the respect afforded by the doctrine of stare decisis.”
Davis, who was briefly jailed for contempt of court after refusing to issue licenses “under God’s authority,” argued that she was punished for acting on her Christian faith and that Obergefell had wrongly forced government officials to violate their beliefs. A federal jury later ordered her to pay $360,000 in damages and legal fees, a decision upheld by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which found she had been acting in her official capacity and was not shielded by the First Amendment.
Obergefell, decided by a 5-4 vote in 2015, held that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry under the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause. The decision, written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, described marriage as embodying “the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice and family.”
The ruling prompted celebrations across the country, including the Obama White House lit in rainbow colors that evening, but also triggered years of legal and political battles over religious liberty. Some groups and public officials have continued to challenge its reach, arguing that it infringes upon the rights of people of faith who object to same-sex marriage.
Earlier this month, as The Dallas Express reported, the Texas Supreme Court updated its judicial ethics rules to clarify that judges may decline to perform same-sex marriages if doing so conflicts with their sincerely held religious beliefs.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s denial of Davis’s appeal does not prevent future challenges to Obergefell, but any new case would have to begin from scratch. For now, the landmark decision remains the law of the land, ensuring that same-sex marriage will continue to be recognized nationwide, at least for the foreseeable future.