The Supreme Court has officially opted not to take up Kim Davis’ petition aimed at overturning the pivotal 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling, which established the right to same-sex marriage across the United States. This decision was communicated on Monday through the court’s standard order list, which details the latest actions regarding pending legal appeals.
To have considered Davis’ petition, at least four justices would have needed to agree to hear the case, but no justices indicated any dissent regarding the court’s decision to decline a review.
Kim Davis, a former county clerk in Kentucky, garnered national attention nearly a decade ago when she refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, citing her religious beliefs in the aftermath of the Obergefell decision. Her petition sought to challenge a ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, which upheld her loss in a civil case initiated by David Moore and David Ermold, the same-sex couple denied a marriage license by Davis. In response to the Supreme Court’s refusal to review the case, Moore and Ermold stated that Obergefell “was correctly decided, and there is no need to revisit it.”
This decision reinforces the significance of the Obergefell ruling in protecting and affirming the rights of same-sex couples across the nation, signaling a strong continuation of support for marriage equality. As legal discussions around marriage rights evolve, the reaffirmation of previous landmark decisions continues to shape the landscape of civil rights and freedoms in the United States.