Ten years after the U.S. Supreme Court extended marriage rights to same-sex couples nationwide, the justices will consider this fall whether to take up a case explicitly asking them to overturn that landmark ruling.
According to ABC News, former Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis, jailed in 2015 for refusing to issue marriage licenses to a gay couple on religious grounds, is appealing a $100,000 jury award for emotional damages and $260,000 in attorneys’ fees. In her petition, Davis argues her actions were protected by the First Amendment’s free exercise clause and that Obergefell v. Hodges — the 2015 decision recognizing same-sex marriage — was “egregiously wrong.”
The case marks the first formal request since 2015 for the high court to overturn Obergefell. Lower courts have rejected Davis’ defense, noting she acted as a state official and could not claim First Amendment immunity. Attorneys for David Ermold and David Moore — the couple who sued Davis — told ABC News they are confident the Supreme Court will decline to hear the appeal.
Still, Davis’ challenge comes amid renewed efforts in at least nine states to restrict marriage rights for LGBTQ+ people, part of a broader push by some conservatives to return the issue to the states.
Public opinion on same-sex marriage remains largely favorable, with Gallup showing 70% support in 2025, up from 60% in 2015, though Republican support has dropped to 41%.
Davis likens her case to the court’s 2022 reversal of Roe v. Wade and cites Justice Clarence Thomas’ call to revisit Obergefell. ABC News legal analyst Sarah Isgur says it’s unlikely the justices will take up the case as a direct challenge to same-sex marriage, predicting they would want the issue to develop further in lower courts.
Even if Obergefell were overturned, existing marriages would remain valid under the 2022 Respect for Marriage Act, which requires all states to recognize same-sex and interracial unions performed elsewhere.
Davis is one of the few with legal standing to mount such a challenge, and her petition will be considered in a private Supreme Court conference this fall. If accepted, arguments could be heard next spring with a decision by June 2026.
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