U. S: SUPREME COURT PETITIONED TO OVERTURN LANDMARK SAME-SEX MARRIAGE DECISION. (PHOTO).

Supreme Court petitioned to overturn landmark same-sex marriage decision

Ten years after the Supreme Court recognized nationwide marriage rights for same-sex couples, the justices will this fall weigh whether to hear a case directly challenging that precedent. The petition comes from Kim Davis, the former Kentucky county clerk who spent six days in jail in 2015 for refusing, on religious grounds, to issue marriage licenses to a gay couple. She is appealing a $100,000 jury award for emotional damages, along with $260,000 in attorneys’ fees, arguing that her actions were protected under the First Amendment’s guarantee of free exercise of religion. In her filing, Davis claims the landmark 2015 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges—which extended marriage rights under the Fourteenth Amendment—was “egregiously wrong” and should be overturned, likening the matter to the court’s 2022 reversal of Roe v. Wade. Lower courts have rejected her claims, with a federal appeals panel ruling she cannot use the First Amendment as a defense for state action.

The case emerges as part of a broader push by some conservative groups and state legislatures to undo Obergefell and return the authority to regulate marriage to the states. So far in 2025, at least nine states have introduced bills or resolutions urging the court to reverse the decision. The movement has been endorsed by the Southern Baptist Convention, which called such reversals a priority. While polls show broad public support for same-sex marriage—around 70% in 2025, up from 60% in 2015—support among Republicans has dropped significantly. Legal experts view Davis’ bid as unlikely to succeed, predicting that many justices, even within the conservative majority, would prefer to let related challenges develop in lower courts first. If the Supreme Court accepts the petition, oral arguments could be held next spring with a decision by June 2026. Overturning Obergefell would not nullify existing same-sex marriages due to protections in the 2022 Respect for Marriage Act, but it could open the door for states to stop issuing new licenses to LGBTQ couples.