US Supreme Court To Consider First-Ever Bid To Overturn Same-Sex Marriage Ruling

(MENAFN- Live Mint) A decade after the Supreme Court's landmark 2015 ruling extending marriage rights to same-sex couples nationwide, the justices will this fall consider a petition explicitly asking them to overturn the decision.

Kim Davis' challenge

Kim Davis, a former Kentucky county clerk jailed in 2015 for refusing to issue marriage licenses to a gay couple on religious grounds, is appealing a $100,000 jury verdict for emotional damages and $260,000 in attorneys' fees. Her petition argues that the First Amendment's free exercise clause should shield her from personal liability.

More fundamentally, Davis claims the court's decision in Obergefell vs Hodges was“egregiously wrong.”

“The mistake must be corrected,” wrote Davis' attorney Mathew Staver. He described Justice Anthony Kennedy's majority opinion in Obergefell as“legal fiction,” calling the case“one of exceptional importance” since Davis was“the first individual in the Republic's history who was jailed for following her religious convictions regarding the historic definition of marriage.”

Legal hurdles and lower court rulings

Lower courts have dismissed Davis' claims. A federal appeals court ruled earlier this year that she“cannot raise the First Amendment as a defense because she is being held liable for state action, which the First Amendment does not protect.”

Davis, as Rowan County Clerk, was responsible for issuing marriage licenses under state law at the time.

Renewed Conservative push

Davis' appeal coincides with a resurgence among conservative groups aiming to reverse marriage equality and allow states to determine their own policies. At Obergefell's 2015 ruling, 35 states still banned same-sex marriage either statutorily or constitutionally. In 2025 alone, nine states have proposed legislation or passed resolutions urging the Supreme Court to overturn the decision.

The Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the US, voted in June to prioritise overturning“laws and court rulings, including Obergefell, that defy God's design for marriage and family.”

Comparison to abortion ruling

Davis' petition draws parallels with the Supreme Court's 2022 overturning of Roe vs Wade, highlighting Justice Clarence Thomas' concurrence that urged revisiting Obergefell along with other substantive due process precedents.

Thomas wrote:“The Court should reconsider all of this Court's substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell.”

Supreme Court's pending decision

The justices are expected to consider Davis' petition during a private conference this fall to decide whether to add the case to their docket. If accepted, oral arguments could take place next spring with a decision by June 2026. The court may also decline, letting lower court rulings stand and avoiding a direct challenge to Obergefell.

Legal experts stress that even if overturned, existing same-sex marriages would remain valid due to the 2022 Respect for Marriage Act, which requires all states and the federal government to recognize legal marriages regardless of future rulings.

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