The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a lawsuit brought by a former Kentucky official seeking to overturn the nationwide legalization of same-sex marriage, which passed in 2015 following a landmark ruling in Obergefell vs. Hodges. The high court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, rejected the appeal of Kim Davis, a former Kentucky county clerk who was sued by a gay couple after he refused to officiate their wedding. “The request for review (of the case) is denied,” the Supreme Court said. Although he did not elaborate on his decision, at least four justices dissented from hearing Davis’ case.
For Jim Obergefell, whose cause led to national approval of same-sex marriage in the United States, Davis’ case is personal. In an interview with The lawyerhe said he was “disgusted” that there are fellow citizens working against the well-being and happiness of others, using religious freedom as an excuse. “This modern version of religious freedom – this belief that one’s personal religion trumps everything else – is a distortion and a perversion of what our founders intended,” he said. Furthermore, Obergefell pointed out that Davis’ refusal to uphold the law was symptomatic of a larger problem: public officials putting their private faith before civic duty. “(Davis) swore an oath to serve all people. Yet he used his government position to persecute others.”
Three years ago, a federal judge, David Bunning, rejected Davis’ arguments, as Reuters reminds us: “She cannot use her constitutional rights as a shield to violate the constitutional rights of others while carrying out her duties as an elected official.”
Despite the 2015 Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage in all U.S. states, Davis maintained that the law conflicted with her religious beliefs. The former official had already filed a lawsuit in the lower courts, which not only rejected her claims, but also convicted her of violating fundamental rights (she spent five days in prison and was fined over 300,000 euros). Additionally, five years ago, the Supreme Court rejected another of Davis’ appeals.
The former officer, who worked at the Kentucky registry office, was seeking to appeal his convictions to the Supreme Court, as well as to overturn the ruling in the Obergefell case. Josh Rovenger, legal counsel for GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), said that these intentions have little chance of success: “It would be very anomalous for the Supreme Court, with such limited facts, to review Obergefell,” he noted in The lawyer last week.
In 2022, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority, which includes three Trump-nominated justices, overturned the nation’s abortion protections, leaving legislation up to individual states. The Supreme Court thus annulled the 1973 milestone Roe v. Wade decision that had legalized abortion throughout the United States. Following that ruling, numerous states with conservative governors passed laws restricting women’s right to abortion. Now it was feared that the same thing could happen again.
After overturning the protection of abortion rights, consolidated more than half a century ago, ultra-conservative factions in the United States hoped that the Supreme Court would not only consider the Davis case, but would end up overturning the nation’s protection of same-sex marriage, opening the door to state vetoes.
There have been 616 anti-LGBTQ+ state bills introduced this year (from Idaho to Montana, including Arkansas, Texas and Iowa), according to the American Civil Rights Union (ACLU). Of these, 71 have become law, while 248 have been rejected and 285 remain in the legislative process. While many are rejected, the simple proposals fuel LGBTQ+ phobia, according to advocacy organizations.
For his part, Davis’ attorney, Mathew Staver, said that Liberty Counsel, the organization of which Davis is a member and which promotes “evangelical Christian values,” will continue to work to overturn Obergefell vs. Hodgesa ruling he describes as “flawed from the start.” “The question is not if, but when the Supreme Court will overturn Obergefell,” he said in a statement.
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