A former Kentucky clerk Kim Davis, as of July, has consulted the Supreme Court in favor of overturning the court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage in the United States (U.S.).
As the Trump administration continues to work in favor of limiting the rights of the members of the LGBTQ+ community in the U.S., county clerk Kim Davis exhibited a shared mindset after petitioning the Supreme Court of the U.S. (SCOTUS) to overturn the 2015 ruling, Obergefell v. Hodges, that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. Davis has had repeated legal offenses regarding her noncompliance with the ruling. In 2015, Davis spent six days in jail after refusing to purvey a marriage license to a gay couple on religious grounds. Due to this infraction, Davis was issued a jury verdict of $100,000 in emotional damages.
Discontent with the jury’s verdict, Davis set to appeal the $100,000 in emotional damages as well as the additional $260,000 spent on attorneys. In this appeal, Davis has proffered to the SCOTUS that the U.S.’s First Amendment right of freedom of religion protects her from penalization in the matter of refusing the marriage license. Her lawyer has contended Obergefell v. Hodges was fictitious, forming a large portion of the argument of their case.
Under the Trump administration, more legislation has been passed in direct opposition to the rights afforded to the LGBTQ+ community as well as other minority groups. Davis’ call to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges has elicited in various groups similar reactions as the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement’s legal actions have.
However, lower courts have already begun to dismiss Davis’ appeal and petition on the basis that it is too outlandish an argument. Because Davis is being held liable for the state’s actions and the First Amendment does not cover such, her case is faulty at its core.
Regardless of the petition’s general alignment with MAGA and our president’s administration, it is unlikely that the SCOTUS will actually revisit Obergefell v. Hodges.