Kim Davis, the former county clerk of Rowan County, Kentucky, has renewed her request that the U.S. Supreme Court revisit and overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 decision requiring all 50 states to recognize same-sex “marriages”. She is also seeking relief from the financial penalties she has incurred for resisting that ruling.
Following the Obergefell decision, Davis refused to issue marriage licenses, standing up for her Christian faith and conviction that marriage is soley the union of a man and a woman. This refusal led to legal repercussions, including a $100,000 judgment in 2023, imposed on her for denying licenses, in addition to further damages awarded to other plaintiffs. A subsequent $260,000 was added to cover attorneys’ fees and related costs, bringing the total financial burden placed upon Davis to $360,000.
Liberty Counsel, the nonprofit legal group representing Davis, appealed her case to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in July 2024. After a three-judge panel rejected the appeal and the full court declined to rehear the case, Liberty Counsel escalated the issue in April by filing a petition with the Supreme Court. In their brief, they argue that if the First Amendment does not safeguard Davis in her capacity as a government employee, it should at least protect her now as a private citizen.
This appeal is a landmark opportunity for the Supreme Court to revisit the decision in Obergefell to attempt to redefine marriage. Along with the First Amendment claims set forth by Liberty Counsel, Kim Davis’ fight shows that while Obergefell is generally considered “settled” law by proponents of same-sex “marriage”, Christians must always have hope and continue the fight for the preservation of marriage as the union of a man and a woman.
Discussion about this post