The Supreme Court declined on Monday to reconsider its 2015 decision establishing nationwide recognition of same-sex marriage after former Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis sought review of lower court rulings requiring her to pay $360,000 in damages. Davis refused to issue marriage licenses to David Ermold and David Moore in 2015, citing her Apostolic Christian faith, and subsequently spent six days in custody for contempt before federal and appellate judges rejected her religious liberty defense.
Liberty Counsel attorney Mat Staver argued his client faces financial penalties based solely on emotional distress claims, while Davis's petition characterized the marriage equality precedent as rooted in legal fiction. Federal Judge David Bunning previously determined that elected officials cannot invoke personal religious convictions to deny constitutional protections to citizens.
The 2015 Obergefell v Hodges ruling established marriage equality through a 5-4 majority that included then-Justice Anthony Kennedy alongside four liberal colleagues. Chief Justice John Roberts dissented at the time, questioning whether five justices possessed the authority to mandate the redefinition of marriage across all states.
Liberty Counsel attorney Mat Staver argued his client faces financial penalties based solely on emotional distress claims, while Davis's petition characterized the marriage equality precedent as rooted in legal fiction. Federal Judge David Bunning previously determined that elected officials cannot invoke personal religious convictions to deny constitutional protections to citizens.
The 2015 Obergefell v Hodges ruling established marriage equality through a 5-4 majority that included then-Justice Anthony Kennedy alongside four liberal colleagues. Chief Justice John Roberts dissented at the time, questioning whether five justices possessed the authority to mandate the redefinition of marriage across all states.
