United States Supreme Court Decides Same Sex Marriage Ruling Still Valid~4 min read

The Supreme Court of the United States was recently asked to take up a request to overturn the 2015 landmark ruling granting same sex couples the right to marry, Obergefell v. Hodges. The request came on behalf of Kim Davis, a former Kentucky county clerk who gained public attention in 2015. Following the Supreme Court’s ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, Kim Davis stopped issuing marriage licenses to any couples the county she clerked in due to what she indicated was a personal religious belief that marriage is a union of one man and one woman. She has been involved in various litigation since then stemming from her denial of marriage licenses and her refusal to comply with court orders to issue marriage licenses.

The most recent appeal stems from Ms. Davis denying a marriage license to Mr. Ermold and Mr. Moore, a couple who resided in Kentucky. Mr. Ermold and Mr. Moore attempted to obtain a marriage license on multiple occasions, with Ms. Davis denying them each time due to her personal religious beliefs involving same sex marriage. The couple sued Ms. Davis, claiming damages resulting from the denial of their marriage license. They have since been awarded over $360,000 in damages and attorneys’ fees from resulting litigation. Ms. Davis appealed the most recent order granting damages to Mr. Ermold and Mr. Moore.

As part of the Petition to the Supreme Court, counsel for Ms. Davis argued that Obergefell should be overturned because the right granted by that ruling is not carefully articulated and not deeply rooted in the nation’s history. She further argued that the Constitution makes no mention of same sex marriage and therefore same sex marriage is not a constitutionally protected right.

Counsel for Mr. Ermold and Mr. Moore argued that the Supreme Court should not accept the appeal because Ms. Davis had previously conceded as part of a separate appeal that she was not arguing that Obergefell should be overturned, and so she had waived the ability to make that request at a later juncture. Further, counsel for the couple argued that Ms. Davis’ most recent appeal was not a proper avenue to consider overturning Obergefell because Ms. Davis’ grievance was based in the fact that she tried to create a religious accommodation of her own scope that utilized the power of the state to deny individuals their legal rights.

The Supreme Court turned down the request to review the matter. As is the custom when the Court turns down a case, they did not issue any sort of opinion on why the case was declined. Because the Supreme Court declined to hear the case, the ruling of the lower court is allowed to stand. This means that the judgment awarding Mr. Ermold and Mr. Moore damages and attorneys’ fees is valid. It also means that the Supreme Court has declined a request to review whether the Obergefell ruling was issued in error.

The Williams Institute at UCLA Law School conducts research about the experiences of same sex couples and legislation that may impact them. According to their data, there are about 823,000 married same sex couples in the United States. Of these couples, 591,000 wed after the Obergefell decision was issued in 2015. Almost one in five of those married couples is parenting a child under age 18. Their research indicates that the majority of LGBT parents are in relationships. It is significant that even though 36 states and the District of Columbia permitted same sex marriage prior to the issuance of Obergefell, the majority of married same sex couples wed after same sex marriage was made legal throughout the country.

The Supreme Court declining to take up this request to review Obergefell is good news for LGBT couples and families, for now. Ms. Davis’ most recent appeal was widely considered an improper request to reconsider the validity of Obergefell because the crux of that legal dispute was not actually about same sex marriage. Ms. Davis’ most recent appeal was about the damages award that had been assessed against her after she denied the Kentucky couple a marriage license and whether Ms. Davis had any valid defenses to their claims. Ms. Davis added in a request to overturn Obergefell as a last-ditch effort of sorts.

Our experienced family law attorneys are well-versed in issues surrounding same-sex divorce and parenting matters. Please contact our office to schedule a consultation to discuss your case.