Supreme Court Declines to Overturn Landmark Same-Sex Marriage Ruling

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to revisit its landmark same-sex marriage ruling, rejecting an appeal from former Kentucky clerk Kim Davis. The order, issued without comment, leaves in place lower court decisions holding Davis personally liable for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples after the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision.

In 2015, Davis, then clerk of Rowan County, stopped issuing marriage licenses after the Supreme Court recognized same-sex marriage as a constitutional right. Two couples sued, and a federal jury later awarded them $100,000 for emotional distress. Davis spent several days in jail for defying a court order to comply with the ruling, and her appeal of the damages was later denied.

Davis argued that she acted on religious grounds and should not be held financially responsible. Her lawyers claimed that Obergefell recognized a right not grounded in earlier precedent. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected that argument, finding that Davis violated clearly established law and could not claim protection under the doctrine of qualified immunity.

Qualified immunity protects public officials from personal lawsuits for actions taken on the job, but that protection does not apply when they violate rights already clearly recognized by law. The court ruled that Davis’s refusal to issue marriage licenses after Obergefell met that standard, which allowed the damages verdict against her to remain in effect.

The Obergefell ruling, written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, held that marriage is a fundamental right protected by the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantees of due process and equal protection. In plain terms, the decision means that states cannot deny marriage to same-sex couples because doing so would violate the Constitution’s promise of equal treatment. The 5-4 decision legalized same-sex marriage nationwide and is regarded as one of the most significant civil rights rulings in recent decades.

LGBTQ advocates praised the court’s refusal to revisit the precedent. “When public officials take an oath to serve, that promise extends to everyone, including LGBTQ+ people,” said Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign. Davis’s attorney, Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel, said her legal team would continue efforts to challenge Obergefell, calling the damages “crippling.”

The case drew renewed attention amid speculation over whether the current conservative-majority court might revisit past rulings on personal liberties. The court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade raised concerns that other rights, such as marriage equality or contraception, could be reconsidered. Justice Clarence Thomas has suggested that the court should reexamine those cases, though other conservative justices have expressed caution.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett recently told The New York Times that “very concrete reliance interests” exist around same-sex marriage, noting that millions of Americans have built their families around the ruling. Justice Samuel Alito, while critical of Obergefell, said it remains “a precedent of the court that is entitled to the respect afforded by the doctrine of stare decisis,” a principle that favors consistency in established law.

Mary Bonauto, the attorney who argued Obergefell before the Supreme Court, said Monday’s order reinforces the stability of that precedent. Bonauto said the decision shows that marriage equality continues to protect families and strengthen communities.

By declining review, the justices left the lower court’s ruling and the financial award against Davis in place. Obergefell v. Hodges remains the governing law on marriage rights in the United States.