The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to take up the appeal of Kim Davis, the former Kentucky county clerk who made headlines in 2015 when she refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. This decision leaves in place lower court rulings that held her accountable for violating the civil rights of LGBTQ+ couples and marks a quiet but important victory for marriage equality in the face of growing right-wing religious legal challenges.
Davis, who was briefly jailed in 2015 for defying court orders, became a conservative martyr after citing her religious beliefs as justification for denying marriage licenses following the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges ruling that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. Nearly a decade later, she’s still trying to dodge accountability, this time by asking the high court to overturn the damages awarded to plaintiffs and to reconsider the Obergefell decision itself.
But in a move that sidestepped a potential political firestorm, the justices declined to hear the case without comment. That includes the court’s six conservative members, none of whom joined Justice Clarence Thomas’ previously stated desire to revisit the marriage equality precedent.
Thomas had suggested in 2022, in the decision that dismantled Roe v. Wade, that the court should also reconsider cases like Obergefell and even Lawrence v. Texas, which struck down sodomy laws. His comments triggered deep concern among LGBTQ+ advocates, worried the court might be laying the groundwork to roll back hard-won rights. While Monday’s decision doesn’t guarantee marriage equality is safe forever, it’s a strong signal that a majority of the court isn’t ready to reopen that battle, at least not yet.
Davis, represented by the far-right legal group Liberty Counsel, was ordered by a jury last year to pay $100,000 in damages to plaintiffs David Moore and David Ermold, the couple at the heart of the case. She also faces over a quarter-million dollars in legal fees. Her claim? That her First Amendment rights gave her the religious freedom to deny same-sex couples their constitutional rights.
Thankfully, the courts didn’t buy it, and now, neither does the Supreme Court.
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Still, it’s worth remembering that while Obergefell stands, LGBTQ+ rights remain under siege in other legal arenas. In recent years, the Supreme Court has repeatedly sided with religious plaintiffs seeking exemptions from anti-discrimination laws, eroding protections for queer and trans people under the guise of “religious liberty.”
Marriage equality is still the law of the land, and Kim Davis lost again.
