US Supreme Court rejects challenge to same-sex marriage

A former official who refused to issue same-sex marriage licenses asked the Supreme Court to reconsider its landmark ruling that guaranteed the right to same-sex marriage. However, the Supreme Court rejected the bid.

The United States Supreme Court on Monday refused to revisit its precedent recognizing the constitutional right to same-sex marriage.

The court, without comment, rejected a bid by a former Kentucky county official Kim Davis to overturn its 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling, which allows same-sex couples to marry.

Davis sought to have the Supreme Court overturn a lower court's order requiring her to pay $360,000 in damages and attorney fees to a couple whose marriage license she denied because of her religious beliefs.

Precedent-setting ruling legalized same-sex marriage

LGBTQ+ activists grew concerned after the Supreme Court in 2022 overturned its Roe v. Wade ruling guaranteeing the right to abortion, signaling openness to revisiting precedents. Justice Clarence Thomas later urged reconsideration of Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.

In 2015, the Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that states cannot ban same-sex marriage because the US Constitution guarantees equal protection and due process.

"This is a win for same-sex couples everywhere who have built their families and lives around the right to marry," William Powell, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, said.

Mat Staver, founder of the conservative Christian legal group Liberty Counsel representing Davis, called Monday's decision heartbreaking but vowed to continue efforts to overturn the Obergefell precedent.

Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko