Kim Davis, who refused to certify same-sex marriages, asks Supreme Court to hear case

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 31, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

A former county clerk in Kentucky who made national headlines in 2015 for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples is again asking the United States Supreme Court to hear her case 10 years later.

Kim Davis, who was the Rowan County clerk from 2015 through 2019, has petitioned the country’s highest court to reconsider the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling, which legalized same-sex civil marriages nationally.

That year, the court’s 5-4 decision found that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to legally recognized marriages under the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause.

Davis’ filing also asks the court to consider her request to use a First Amendment defense against civil lawsuits that stemmed from her refusal to issue those marriage licenses. She was found liable for violating the constitutional rights of same-sex couples whose marriage licenses she refused to certify and ordered to pay them hundreds of thousands of dollars.

At the time, Davis had requested a religious accommodation that would have allowed her to continue her job without issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Gov. Matt Bevin, who assumed office in December of that year, signed an executive order accommodating Davis, which allowed clerks to remove their names from marriage licenses issued by the office.

Still, because Davis was denied civil immunity and denied the ability to use a First Amendment defense in court, she remains liable for those damages. She is represented in court by Liberty Counsel, a Christian legal nonprofit.

Liberty Counsel Chairman Mat Staver said in a statement that Davis’ ongoing case shows why the country’s Supreme Court “should overturn the wrongly decided … opinion” on same-sex marriage. He argued that the ruling “threatens the religious liberty of Americans who believe that marriage is a sacred union between one man and one woman.”

“A person cannot stand before the court utterly defenseless while facing claims of emotional distress for her views on marriage,” Staver said.

“Yet, that is the result of Obergefell, which led these courts to strip Davis of any personal First Amendment defense,” he continued. “Obergefell cannot just push the First Amendment aside to punish individuals for their beliefs about marriage. The First Amendment precludes making the choice between your faith and your livelihood. The high court now has the opportunity to finally overturn this egregious opinion from 2015.”

The lawsuit argues that in the same way the First Amendment “provides a defense to private business owners … for refusing to violate their religious convictions” regarding same-sex civil marriages, the Supreme Court should recognize it “likewise provides an individual a defense to application of state laws that require her to speak a message concerning same-sex marriage that is inconsistent with her religious beliefs.”

It adds that there is “no sound constitutional basis” to treat a public official acting in his or her individual capacity any differently than a nonpublic official: “To do so would mean government officials surrender certain constitutional rights at their swearing-in ceremonies. That cannot be right.”

Although same-sex marriage has been the law of the land for the past decade, there have been some recent efforts to push back on the ruling.

Just this year, lawmakers in at least five states introduced resolutions that called on the court to overturn its same-sex marriage ruling. Two resolutions passed their state’s lower chamber but did not get through their state’s senate. The other three failed earlier in the process. Lawmakers in at least four states introduced proposals to create a new category of a “covenant marriage,” which is reserved for one man and one woman.

A May Gallup poll found that 68% of Americans support same-sex civil marriages. This is down from a height of 71% in 2022 and 2023 after there was a slight decrease two years in a row. Only 41% of Republicans support same-sex civil marriages, which is down from highs of 55% in 2021 and 2022.