Supreme Court to Review Kim Davis Petition on Gay Marriage

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to consider a petition Friday from former Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis seeking to overturn the 2015 landmark ruling that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. The appeal, discussed during the justices' weekly closed-door conference in Washington, stems from Davis's refusal to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples after the Obergefell v. Hodges decision.

Davis, who served as Rowan County clerk in eastern Kentucky, gained national attention in 2015 when she cited her Christian faith to deny licenses to couples including David Ermold and David Moore. She defied federal court orders to comply, leading to her five-day imprisonment for contempt in September of that year. Her deputies eventually issued licenses without her name, and the Kentucky Legislature responded by amending state law to remove clerks' names from marriage forms. Davis lost her reelection bid in 2018.

The current petition challenges a lower federal court's order requiring Davis to pay Ermold and Moore about $100,000 in damages and $260,000 in attorneys' fees for violating their constitutional rights. Davis's legal team, backed by the Liberty Counsel, argues she is entitled to...