WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has declined to reconsider its landmark decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, rejecting an appeal from Kim Davis, the former Kentucky court clerk who gained notoriety for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples following the 2015 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges.
Davis was appealing a lower court’s decision that ordered her to pay $360,000 in damages and attorney’s fees to a couple whose marriage license she denied. Despite attempts to invoke Justice Clarence Thomas’s dissenting opinion from 2015, which called for erasing the same-sex marriage ruling, the court chose to remain silent on the matter.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett acknowledged differences between issues of same-sex marriage and abortion, suggesting that many individuals have built their lives and families based on marriage decisions.
Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, praised the justices for taking a stand on constitutional rights, emphasizing that refusing to recognize these rights carries consequences.
Davis had previously drawn national attention for her refusal to comply with the Supreme Court ruling, leading to her brief imprisonment for contempt of court in 2015. After her release, the Kentucky legislature changed the law to remove the names of clerks from marriage licenses. In 2018, Davis lost her reelection bid.
Davis was appealing a lower court’s decision that ordered her to pay $360,000 in damages and attorney’s fees to a couple whose marriage license she denied. Despite attempts to invoke Justice Clarence Thomas’s dissenting opinion from 2015, which called for erasing the same-sex marriage ruling, the court chose to remain silent on the matter.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett acknowledged differences between issues of same-sex marriage and abortion, suggesting that many individuals have built their lives and families based on marriage decisions.
Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, praised the justices for taking a stand on constitutional rights, emphasizing that refusing to recognize these rights carries consequences.
Davis had previously drawn national attention for her refusal to comply with the Supreme Court ruling, leading to her brief imprisonment for contempt of court in 2015. After her release, the Kentucky legislature changed the law to remove the names of clerks from marriage licenses. In 2018, Davis lost her reelection bid.
