Same-sex marriage ruling from 2015 could be overturned as unprecedented case sparks fury
A decade after same-sex marriage was legalised across the United States, the Supreme Court will now consider whether or not to overturn the ruling.
This decision depends on whether or not the government body opts to intervene in the case of Kim Davis - a Kentucky ex-country clerk who was imprisoned for six days in 2015 for refusing to issue marriage licenses to a same-sex couple on the grounds of religion.
Davis is now suing $100,000 for emotional damages, as well as $260,000 for legal fees.
In her official petition, the former clerk cited the First Amendment, which protects Americans for free exercise of religion, claiming this legislation immunises her from personal liability for rejecting the gay couple 10 years ago.
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The documents also hear Davis argue that the High Court's 2015 decision in the Obergefell v Hodges case was 'egregiously wrong'.
Who is Kim Davis and what did she do?
Kim Davis, a former Rowan County Clerk in Kentucky, rose to global attention in 2015 after refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples despite a U.S. court order. Citing religious objections, she was jailed for five days for contempt before allowing deputies to issue licenses without her name.
For those unfamiliar with this landmark case, it eventually went to the Supreme Court, which ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to homosexual couples.
What has Kim Davis' lawyer said now?
Davis' attorney, Matthew Staver writes in the petition for her appeal: "The mistake must be corrected."
The lawyer also branded Justice Anthony Kennedy's majority opinion in the Obergefell v Hodges case, 'legal fiction'.
As such, if the Supreme Court takes up Davis' case - an appeal which, in itself is unprecedented in American history - they'll be forced to consider whether to overturn this decision as a whole.
This incident marks the first time in the last 10 years that the Supreme Court have been formally asked to overturn the landmark decision on same-sex marriage.
Why is this unprecedented?
Most concerning, is that legal experts have determined Davis to be one of the only Americans with viable legal standing to bring a challenge to the ruling.
"If there ever was a case of exceptional importance," Staver continued. "The first individual in the Republic's history who was jailed for following her religious convictions regarding the historic definition of marriage, this should be it."
What have Americans said about Kim Davis' appeal?
Naturally, the appeal - as well as the prospect of having the same-sex marriage ruling overturned - has horrified a number of US citizens.
Taking to social media, one X (formerly Twitter) user demanded: "Why can't people just mind their god damn f*****g business? If you don't want to be in a same sex marriage, you don't have to be??"
Another admitted: "I will never understand the obsession of wanting to overturn same sex marriage. How does that affect you at all? So exhausting."
"I remember when the same sex marriage law was passed in 2015, I was 15 and had just came out a few months prior to it," a third told their followers. "Now at 25 I’m watching the Supreme Court be officially asked to overturn it. I’m so tired."
Many critics of the appeal are also clinging onto the hope that it'll be dismissed by the Supreme Court, being that lower courts have previously made the same decision.
What has the legal system said about the appeal?
Earlier this year, a federal appeals court panel ruled that Davis 'cannot raise the First Amendment as a defense because she is being held liable for state action, which the First Amendment does not protect'.
William Powell, a lawyer for David Ermold and David Moore - the Kentucky couple whose marriage licence Davis refused - told ABC in a new statement: "Not a single judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals showed any interest in Davis's rehearing petition.
"And we are confident the Supreme Court will likewise agree that Davis's arguments do not merit further attention."
Topics: LGBTQ, Sex and Relationships, Politics, US News, News
Rhianna Benson