Topline
The Supreme Court will not take up a case asking justices to overturn their decision legalizing same-sex marriage, the court announced Monday, relieving widespread fears from LGBTQ rights advocates who viewed the petition as a potential sign the court was willing to undo the landmark precedent.
Same-sex marriage supporter Vin Testa waves a LGBTQ pride flag in front of the U.S. Supreme Court Building on June 26, 2023 in Washington, DC.
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Key Facts
The Supreme Court rejected a petition asking it to take up the case Davis v. Ermold, which asked the court to overturn its precedent in Obergefell v. Hodges that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.
The court did not comment at all on the denial, and no justices publicly dissented from the decision.
Former county clerk Kim Davis, who garnered attention after the 2015 Obergefell decision for still refusing to issue same-sex marriage certificates, had brought the case, asking the court to overturn its precedent as part of a long-running legal dispute between Davis and a same-sex couple she refused to marry.
The case had garnered widespread attention, given fears by LGBTQ advocates that the 6-3 conservative court, which has issued a string of recent decisions against LGBTQ rights, would take up the case and overturn Obergefell.
There had never been any indication that justices would hear the case, as the Supreme Court typically rejects the vast majority of cases it’s asked to hear.
The Supreme Court is still set to decide multiple other major cases on LGBTQ rights this term, including cases concerning bans on LGBTQ conversion therapy and transgender women in sports.
What We Don’t Know
If the Supreme Court could consider overturning same-sex marriage in a different case. While the court rejected Davis’ case, it’s still possible justices could take up another case in the future that challenges the decision. Conservative-leaning Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito have suggested they want the Supreme Court to revisit the Obergefell decision, with Thomas writing in 2022 the court has “a duty to ‘correct the error’ established” in the landmark case. It’s unclear if any other justices on the court agree with them, however, and if there would be enough votes to overturn same-sex marriage.