Appeals court rules in Kim Davis case aimed at overturning same-sex marriage
A legal appeal filed by controversial former Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis that aimed to eventually overturn the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court decision was denied this week.
Davis gained fame and notoriety in 2015 by refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, citing her Christian faith and First Amendment rights.
A ruling this week by three Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals judges noted Davis previously had claims of qualified immunity denied in two separate court decisions, and her actions as a public official in denying those licenses were not protected by the First Amendment.
Davis' Liberty Counsel attorneys filed the appeal in July, calling to overturn a 2023 verdict that said she owed $100,000 to a couple to whom she had refused to grant a marriage license in 2015, after the Obergefell decision called on all 50 states to recognize same-sex marriage.
That appeal also argued the U.S. Supreme Court overstepped in that decision and should have left honoring same-sex marriages to states, using similar logic the high court used in 2022 to overturn Roe v. Wade.
In a statement, Liberty Counsel chairman Mat Staver said the case "underscores why the U.S. Supreme Court should overturn Obergefell v. Hodges."
"That decision threatens the religious liberty of many Americans who believe that marriage is a sacred institution between one man and one woman," the statement said. "The First Amendment precludes making the choice between your faith and your livelihood.'
The ruling this week was issued by Judges Helene N. White, Andre B. Mathis and Chad A. Readler. Staver, in his statement, said Liberty Counsel "intends to seek further review" through an appeal in front of the full court, noting Readler said in his concurrence that case law in the Obergefell decision is "not entirely settled."
Davis was briefly jailed over her actions in 2015 and was voted out of office in 2018. But her case attracted international attention, with then-Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, joining her at a rally in Kentucky after she was released from jail, and drew support from many in the evangelical community.
Reach Lucas Aulbach at laulbach@courier-journal.com.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kim Davis appeal aimed at ending same-sex marriage denied by court
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