The Supreme Court on Monday declined to revisit its landmark 2015 decision guaranteeing marriage equality, leaving same-sex rights protections firmly intact nationwide.
The justices turned away an appeal from Kim Davis, the former Kentucky county clerk who gained national attention for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples following the historic Obergefell v. Hodges ruling.
Davis, citing religious objections, had sought to overturn the precedent that guaranteed gay marriage as a constitutional right under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process and Equal Protection clauses. Her attorney argued that Justice Anthony Kennedy’s majority opinion in Obergefell was “legal fiction” and an “egregious” mistake that must be corrected.
The petition also aimed to challenge a lower court order requiring Davis to pay over $360,000 in damages and attorney’s fees to a couple she denied a marriage license.
The Supreme Court offered no comment in declining the case, effectively preserving the constitutional right to same-sex marriage across all 50 states.
This decision comes amid a renewed conservative campaign to reverse legal precedent, with at least nine states introducing legislation or passing resolutions in 2025 aimed at restricting LGBTQ marriage rights or urging the court to reconsider Obergefell.
Human Rights Campaign president Kelley Robinson praised the court’s decision, emphasizing that it reaffirms that denying constitutional rights carries consequences.
The Kim Davis case first reached national prominence in 2015 when she defied court orders following the Obergefell ruling, spending five days in jail for contempt.
Despite the conservative court’s 6-3 supermajority and previous statements from Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito questioning Obergefell, the justices declined this opportunity to revisit marriage equality.
