Supreme Court dismisses long-shot challenge to right to marry for same-sex couples

WASHINGTON— The Supreme Court on Monday rejected without comment a long-shot challenge to same-sex couples’ constitutional right to marry.

judges Kim rejected Davis’ appeal petition A former Kentucky county clerk who challenged the court’s landmark decision in 2015 and repeatedly refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

He appealed after a couple sued and received $100,000 in damages plus attorney fees for willfully violating their constitutional rights.

He argued that the court should hear his case to decide whether the free exercise of religion guaranteed by the 1st Amendment should protect him from being sued.

The appeal also raised a separate question that he had not previously raised in the long legal battle. He said the court must decide “whether to overturn” Obergefell v. Hodges, which established the right to same-sex marriage.

This overdue question has attracted much attention to the appeal, even though it has little or no chance of being seriously considered by the high court.

But some LGBTQ+ advocates were concerned because the conservative court’s Roe vs. He overturned Wade and the constitutional right to abortion in the 2022 Dobbs case.

Judge Clarence Thomas he writes only for himself “We must reconsider all of this court’s substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell,” he later said, citing cases on birth control, private sexual intercourse, and same-sex marriage rights.

But other conservative justices disagreed and said abortion was unique. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. “The rights to birth control and same-sex relations are inherently different from the right to abortion because the latter (as we have emphasized) uniquely involves what Roe calls ‘potential life,’” he wrote in his opinion for the court.

In her new book, “Listening to the Law,” Justice Amy Coney Barrett described the right to marry as a “fundamental right” protected by the Constitution.

“The complex moral debate over abortion contrasts dramatically with America’s widespread support for freedoms such as the rights to marry, have sex, procreate, use birth control, and direct the upbringing of children,” he wrote.

In July, the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law estimated 823,000 married same-sex couples in the United States and approximately 300,000 children are raised by them.

Davis had suffered a series of defeats in federal courts.

A federal judge in Kentucky and the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati rejected his arguments based on the free exercise of religion.

These judges said government officials do not have free speech or religious rights to refuse to perform public duties.

“That’s not how the Constitution works. Government officials are, of course, free to express their views and live by their beliefs in their private lives. But when an official uses state power against private citizens, his conscience must submit to the Constitution,” Judge Helene White said. Wrote for the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals In March.

A decade ago, shortly after the court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, Kentucky’s governor, the state attorney general and a federal judge told Davis that he was legally required to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples applying for marriage.

He refused and said the district would not issue a marriage license until he was granted a special exemption.

David Moore and David Ermold, the couple who have been together for 19 years, filed a lawsuit after their request for a marriage license was rejected three times. Davis said he was acting “under God’s authority.”

A federal judge sentenced him to contempt for refusing to comply with the law. The couple finally obtained a marriage license from one of his attorneys while he was in prison, but their case continued.

The Kentucky Legislature changed the law, saying county clerks are not required to put their names on licenses issued by their office. Davis said the accommodation was sufficient and sought to have the case dismissed as moot.

The 6th Circuit rejected the claim because the claim for damages was still valid and pending. The Supreme Court rejected one of his appeals in 2019.

A federal judge later ruled that he violated Moore and Ermold’s rights, and the jury awarded them each $50,000 in damages.

Mat Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel in Orlando, which advocates for religious liberty, appealed on his behalf.

His petition to the Supreme Court said the court should hear the case to decide whether the 1st Amendment’s protection of the free exercise of religion would bar a public official from being sued “in his individual capacity.”

The 6th Circuit Court rejected this argument in a 3-0 decision.

“The Bill of Rights would be of little use if it could be freely ignored when an officer’s conscience required it,” Judge White said.

“In fact, it is not hard to imagine the dire possibilities that could arise if Davis’ claim were accepted. A county clerk who considers interracial marriage a sin might refuse to issue licenses to interracial couples. An election official who believes women should not vote might refuse to count women’s votes. A zoning official who is personally opposed to Christianity might refuse to allow the construction of a church,” he said.

Judge Chad Readler, a Trump appointee, said that although public employees have some rights based on their religious affiliation, “her conduct here exceeded the scope of any civil rights. … Rather than seeking a religious exemption for herself, Davis instead used the full authority of the Rowan County Clerk’s office to enact a formal policy of denying marriage licenses to same-sex couples that every office employee must comply with.”