Whether the case will lead to a full reconsideration of Obergefell is unclear—but momentum on the ground is building.
Ten years after making national headlines for refusing to issue licenses for same-sex marriages, former Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit—and overturn—its landmark 2015 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges.
“The First Amendment should be an absolute defense to Kim Davis. And secondly, we’re asking the Supreme Court to overturn Obergefell, the 2015 decision that ultimately caused this problem in the first place,” Mat Staver, Davis’s attorney and chairman of Christian legal organization Liberty Counsel, told Fox News.
“For them not to review the matter I think is terrible for Kim Davis and also terrible for the country because they’ve damaged the Constitution and only the court can fix it,” Staver continued.
The Obergefell decision, which relied on a slim 5-4 margin, legalized same-sex marriage nationwide and invalidated state-level marriage laws that upheld traditional definitions of marriage. Davis proclaims herself to be a devout Christian and was jailed for six days after refusing to issue marriage licenses following Obergefell.
According to Liberty Counsel, “the refusal of Governor Beshear to accommodate Kim violated her free exercise rights under both the First Amendment and Kentucky law.”
The group adds that, when Gov. Matt Bevin took office months later in December 2015, he “immediately issued an executive order accommodating all Kentucky clerks who refused to issue marriage licenses that conflict with their religious beliefs.”
The original legal outcome of Davis’s case ordered her to pay over $350,000 in damages and legal fees. Her petition to the court, filed last month, argues that her First Amendment rights to religious liberty should shield her from personal liability, and actually challenges Obergefell itself as constitutionally unfounded.
Her legal team argues that Obergefell was “egregiously wrong” from the start, calling it a “legal fiction” that imposed a federal mandate on county clerks nationwide.
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this year rejected Davis’s defense, ruling that her actions were carried out in her capacity as a government official and therefore not protected under the First Amendment. Davis and her legal team hope the current Supreme Court will be open to considering the merits of her case.
“I think we have a good chance at having the Supreme Court take up this case,” Staver remarked. “There’s only two justices still on the bench that were on the bench in the majority in 2015, and that would be Kagan and Sotomayor.”
Staver stated that he sees Davis’s case as the one “with the most compelling facts that can challenge and overturn Obergefell.”
Gay marriage has a hidden cost and children are paying the price
It's time for the Supreme Court to reverse Obergefell vs. Hodges. 🧵 pic.twitter.com/KJbny2zrtW
— Katy Faust (@Advo_Katy) July 10, 2025
The Supreme Court has not yet agreed to hear Davis’s case, but it took a key step last week when it formally requested a response from the opposing party—a move that suggests at least one justice is seriously considering review.
Whether the case will lead to a full reconsideration of Obergefell is unclear. Still, momentum on the ground is building. At least nine states have introduced bills or passed resolutions in 2025 urging the high court to reverse Obergefell. The Southern Baptist Convention also adopted the overturning of Obergefell as a policy priority.
Davis’s team says it views Obergefell through the lens of Roe v. Wade, which was overturned in 2022 after nearly 50 years.
