The Supreme Court rejects attempt to overturn same-sex marriage

Question

The Supreme Court was approached by Kim Davis on a case meant to overturn same-sex marriage. Kim Davis refused to issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple in 2015, on account of her religious beliefs.  A decade later, it was feared that this case could overturned Obergefell v. Hodges, like how Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022. It is feared that, although the Supreme Court has not indicated overturning Obergefell, previous rulings have indicated a strong religious viewpoint that could affect a case like this.

Answer 1

1. The Supreme Court officially rejected Kim Davis’s request to revisit the 2015 case of Obergefell vs. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage in the United States.

2. 

Breaking news from CBS News that was live when the decision was made to not revisit the case of Obergefell vs Hodges. Kim Davis has to pay for damages to couple she denied a license to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tw2yTev7QLE 

3. 

This secondary source focuses on the back story of why Kim Davis brought herself to asking the Supreme Court to overturn Obergefell vs. Hodges. She felt like she had to pick between her job and her personal ideas.

https://www.scotusblog.com/2025/11/supreme-court-declines-to-hear-case-on-constitutionality-of-same-sex-marriage/ 

This article from Deadline references the shift in the Supreme Court to more conservative judges, so there was worry amongst LGBTQ+ communities. Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Chief Justice John Roberts, all conservative judges, were in the minority in the recent rejection to overturn Obergefell vs. Hodges.

https://deadline.com/2025/11/supreme-court-same-sex-marriage-kim-davis-1236612543/ 

4. Deadline has been known to be left leaning politically, but the reports of the decisions from all sources did not have any clear bias. All sources seemed to be relaying the same main message about the rejection to review the 2015 case, with minor differences in how much detail they included.

5. All of the linked evidence supports the claim because it is a solid true fact that the court decided to reject the request for review. I would say the Deadline article had the most helpful information with including that it was 5-4 and the 3 known conservative judges all being in the minority.

6. None of the evidence undermines the point I am supporting, but I could say that the primary source from the news might not be strong evidence for it to be labeled a primary source. I couldn’t find a true primary source or where the decision was posted.

Answer 2

After looking into multiple sources I’ve found that this statement is true. The Supreme Court recently refused to hear a case from Kim Davis, a former Kentucky county clerk who was known in 2015 for denying marriage licenses to same-sex couples because of her religious beliefs. Almost ten years later, Davis filed another petition asking the Supreme Court to take up her case again and overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, which was the 2015 ruling that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. Many feared this could lead to the end of marriage equality, similar to what's happened since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022. But, the Supreme Court declined to hear it- leaving same-sex marriage protections still in place.

According to ABC News, Davis’s lawyers “formally asked the justices to overrule Obergefell v. Hodges,” but the Court “declined without comment." https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/supreme-court-denies-kim-davis-petition-overturn-same/story?id=127375530&utm The Associated Press reported that “the justices did not explain their decision,” but their refusal to take up the case “means that the 2015 decision remains the law of the land."https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-same-sex-marriage-50eb4ad421911696e742d8c4fb4962fd?utm Politico also confirmed that “the high court’s refusal to take the case signals no appetite among the justices to revisit the landmark ruling,” even though “Justice Clarence Thomas and Justice Samuel Alito have previously criticized the 2015 decision."https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/10/supreme-court-same-sex-marriage-case-00644386?utm These consistent reports show that while a few conservative justices have expressed skepticism toward Obergefell, there is no current majority willing to reconsider or overturn it.

Even though the Court didn’t issue a detailed opinion, their choice to deny Davis’s appeal means the existing law stands. So, that means the claim that the Supreme Court rejected an attempt to overturn same-sex marriage is true.