The U.S. Supreme Court could overturn its decision that gave equal marriage rights to gay Americans. An appeal of a high-profile case has asked the justices to reconsider their decision.
Appeal to the Supreme Court
Kim Davis, a former Kentucky county clerk, spent six days in jail in 2015 after refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay couples on religious grounds.
Download the SAN app today to stay up-to-date with Unbiased. Straight Facts™.
Point phone camera here
She’s now appealing the verdict, which cost her more than $350,000.
Her petition argues she’s protected by the First Amendment and the decision to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples in the Obergefell v. Hodges decision was “egregiously wrong” and “deeply damaging.”
“Obergefell was not grounded in the Nation’s history or traditions, nor could it have been because it was not rooted in any Nation’s history or traditions,” the petition reads.
They argue the Constitution makes no reference to same-sex marriage.
Davis’ claims of religious devotion were called into doubt when it came to light that she had been divorced three times despite Biblical objections. Davis said in a statement that the separations occurred before she found religion. “I am not perfect,” she said in a statement to CNN in 2015. “No one is. But I am forgiven.”
She said her deep religious beliefs prevented her from issuing the licenses, and it’s believed she’s one of only a few Americans with the legal precedent to bring this case to the Supreme Court.
Lower courts have already dismissed Davis’ claims, and most legal experts don’t believe the high court will take her case.
“Not a single judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals showed any interest in Davis’s rehearing petition, and we are confident the Supreme Court will likewise agree that Davis’s arguments do not merit further attention,” William Powell, attorney for the now-married couple that sued Davis, told ABC News.
Roe v. Wade
Davis’ petition said the issue of gay marriage should be treated like the issue of abortion. The lawyer cited the Dobbs decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade.
“As with abortion in Dobbs, ‘[b]ecause the Due Process Clause does not secure any substantive rights, it does not secure a right to [samesex marriage],’ id., and especially not a right to receive a same-sex marriage license from a specific government official, regardless of that individual’s religious convictions,” the petition reads.
Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas is also cited in the petition and has shown interest in revisiting the Obergefell decision.
Trump on gay marriage
The White House has not commented on the case.
President Donald Trump has had varied stances on gay marriage over the years. Most recently, press secretary Karoline Leavitt told NBC News rolling back same-sex marriage was not a campaign promise from Trump.
The president has targeted the transgender community with several executive orders, including barring transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports and banning transgender people from the military.
