The case of former Kentucky County Clerk Kim Davis represents a high-profile collision between religious liberty claims and the constitutional right to marriage equality. Following the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court ruling, Davis, a Pentecostal, refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, citing her religious objections. This refusal led to a highly publicized legal battle, where Davis was briefly jailed for contempt of court after defying a federal judge’s order.
The controversy surrounding Davis was amplified by the fact that she herself had been married multiple times—four, to be exact—leading critics to highlight a perceived hypocrisy in her strict interpretation of marriage’s sanctity applied only to same-sex couples. Her legal fight has since shifted from her official capacity to her personal liability for damages awarded to the couples she denied. The Supreme Court is now set to consider her latest petition, Davis v. Ermold, in a private conference on November 7.
While the immediate issue concerns whether Davis is personally liable for her actions as a state official, her attorneys have overtly asked the Court to use the case as an opportunity to overturn Obergefell. Legal experts view the chance of the Court granting review and upending the marriage equality precedent as highly unlikely, but the very consideration of the petition by the Court’s conservative majority ensures the continued public debate over the balance between individual religious conscience and the government’s duty to uphold the rights of all citizens.
