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

This claim is true because the Supreme Court Of The United States (SCOTUS) declined to revisit the legalization of same-sex marriage. This decision was prompted by a former Kentucky court clerk, Kim Davis, who refused to legalize the marriage licenses of several same-sex couples because of her religious beliefs. 

My primary source was the SCOTUS order list from November 10, 2025, published officially by SCOTUS. I learned that under the “DENIED” section was “DAVIS, KIM V. ERMOLD, DAVID, ET AL.”, meaning the Supreme Court declined Davis’ request to challenge the protection of same-sex marriage under the Obergefell v. Hodges decision. This was the most important document because it provided the main, basic answer to the claim. Additionally, the SCOTUS publications are official government documents and therefore are unbiased and very credible.

SCOTUS document 

My secondary source was the NPR article titled “Supreme Court declines to revisit gay marriage decision”, written by Alyssa Kapasi, and published on November 10, 2025 at 10:48am. This article affirmed the SCOTUS document statement because it explained further that, “the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up a case challenging its landmark decision to legalize gay marriage nationwide.” Kapasi added that the court request from Kim Davis stemmed from her refusal to sign marriage licenses, especially for gay couples, as a former Kentucky county clerk. This article is very credible because NPR is typically unbiased and nationally accredited.

NPR article 

Another secondary source was from The Guardian, titled “US supreme court rejects call to overturn decision legalizing same-sex marriage” and published on November 10, 2025 at 10:05am. This article supported the claim because it clearly identified that the court appeal was declined and further explained why Davis submitted a request. This source is less credible because it does not list a specific author.

The Guardian article 

Overall, the claim is true that SCOTUS declined to revisit the same-sex marriage decision, but more specifically, this is evident in the case of Kim Davis v. David Ermold.

Answer 2

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 3

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.

Answer 4

The original claim states that the Supreme Court did not make same-sex marriage illegal. They are basing this claim on an article from NBC News. They have a positive reputation for reporting honest and unbiased information with no political affiliation. They seem to have no alternative agenda.

Another source that has reported on this topic is The New York Times. They covered the backstory of the request to overturn the "landmark opinion". Referencing the individual who originally petitioned this court, NYT wrote, "The court, without comment, declined the petition, filed by Kim Davis, a former Kentucky county clerk who gained national attention in 2015 when she defied a court order and refused to issue same-sex licenses because of her religious beliefs" (Marimow, 2025).

While looking deeper into where they got their sources from, I found that they quoted Justia US Law when referencing "The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled against Ms. Davis in March"(Marimow, 2025). Justia US Law is "is an online legal resource that provides free access to U.S. laws, regulations, and court decisions, as well as a lawyer directory. It offers a wide range of resources for the public, law students, and legal professionals, including U.S. Supreme Court opinions, federal and state codes, legal guides, and marketing services for law firms." They have a positive reputation of being reputable and legal when it comes to information reported. The New York Times article also cited "a recent Supreme Court decision that found public officials acting in their official capacity are not protected by the First Amendment" (Marimow, 2025). The second source came from another New York Times article written by Adam Liptak. While there is still much hatred in this world, it is true that the Supreme Court chose to uphold the legalization of same-sex marriage and protect love at all costs.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/us/politics/supreme-court-same-sex-marriage.html.

Answer 5

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected former Kentucky clerk Kim Davis's appeal to overturn same-sex marriage rights. In the article by Alex Acquisto of the Lexington Herald Leader newspaper, it is stated that Davis, who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in 2015, citing her religious beliefs, also argued that the 2015 Obergefell v Hodges ruling violated her freedom of religion. The Court's refusal to hear her case leaves the precedent for marriage equality intact and reinforces that personal religious objections do not exempt public officials from performing their duties. Ultimately, this decision upholds the same-sex marriage as a protected constitutional right and marks the end of Davis's battle against it.

https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article312855768.html

Answer 6

The claim is accurate. On November 10, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a case brought by former Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis, who was appealing lower-court rulings against her for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. By denying the petition, the Court effectively rejected an attempt to revisit or overturn Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), which legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. This was a procedural denial rather than a new ruling on same-sex marriage itself. Primary sources, including the Supreme Court docket for Davis v. Ermold (No. 24-915) and the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in Ermold v. Davis (2019), confirm that the Court refused to hear the case, leaving the lower-court decision intact, and that Davis had been found personally liable for violating constitutional rights. Secondary sources such as Reuters, AP News, SCOTUSblog, and The Guardian provide context and interpretation, noting that the denial preserves Obergefell and emphasizing public reaction and relief among LGBTQ+ advocacy groups. Potential biases exist: Reuters and AP are generally neutral wire services, SCOTUSblog provides an analytical legal perspective, The Guardian leans left and highlights human-rights angles, and court documents are neutral. Overall, the Supreme Court docket and multiple reputable news outlets support the claim, while the only nuance is that the Court did not issue a new ruling affirming same-sex marriage, only declined to review the challenge.

Supreme Court docket – Davis v. Ermold (No. 24-915): https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/24-915.html

6th Circuit Court of Appeals – Ermold v. Davis (2019): https://casetext.com/case/ermold-v-davis-4

Reuters – “US Supreme Court rejects bid to overturn same-sex marriage right”: https://www.reuters.com/world/us-supreme-court-rejects-bid-overturn-same-sex-marriage-right-2025-11-10/

AP News – “Supreme Court declines to revisit same-sex marriage ruling”: https://apnews.com/article/50eb4ad421911696e742d8c4fb4962fd

SCOTUSblog – “Supreme Court declines to hear Kim Davis case”: https://www.scotusblog.com/2025/11/supreme-court-declines-to-hear-case-on-constitutionality-of-same-sex-marriage/

The Guardian – “Supreme Court rejects same-sex marriage challenge”: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/10/scotus-rejects-same-sex-marriage-challenge

Answer 7

This is true the Supreme Court of the United States overturned an appeal of the right to same sex marriage. People were afraid that a more conservative court would revisit the ruling from 2015. Kim Davis a clerk from Kentucky denied a marriage to a seme sex couple after the court decision of Obergefell v. Hodges. Her appeal has been denied by the supreme court. 

Supreme Court declines to revisit landmark same-sex marriage precedent | CNN Politics

Similarly reported by NPR, they also report that Kim Davis will pay $360,000 in damages for denying marriage license.

Supreme Court declines to revisit gay marriage decision : NPR

Answer 8

The claim that "The Supreme Court rejects attempt to overturn same-sex marriage" is true. First, let's look at the source provided by the claim. NBC, a national news source with a -1.80 and lean left bias according to Allsides in 2024, states that the Supreme Court has rejected an appeal made by Kim Davis, a former conservative county clerk from Kentucky, that attempted to overturn the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges case that legalized same sex marriage in 2015. This source goes on to state that "Although the court has a 6-3 conservative majority, none of the other justices joined Thomas’ opinion", thus rejecting Davis' appeal despite support from Clarence Thomas, a conservative judge. 

A second source supporting this claim is NPR on November 10th, stating that "the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up a case challenging its landmark decision to legalize gay marriage nationwide". The article from NPR, a news source with a left lean bias (Allsides, 2024), corroborates the information provided by the claim, also listing Kim Davis as the source of this claim and detailing her tumultuous backstory with the topic of gay marriage.

In short, this claim is true, at least for the time being. Only time will tell if this decision is brought into light again, but it is my hope that Obergefell v. Hodges remains safe and sound from individuals like Kim David and Clarence Thomas. 

Answer 9

This is true. The NBC source provided does prove that the Supreme Court rejected an attempt to overturn same-sex marriage. The topic of overturning same-sex marriage was brought to the Supreme Court, which “rejected an appeal brought by Kim Davis, a former county clerk in Kentucky who was sued in 2015 for refusing to issue marriage licenses because of her opposition to same-sex marriage based on her religious beliefs” (Hurley, 2025). AP News also covered this issue and wrote that on Monday, November 10th the Supreme Court “rejected a call to overturn” its decision that legalized same-sex marriage and “without comment, turned away an appeal from Kim Davis” (Sherman, 2025). An NPR article says similar things and also notes that, “The court's decision to not hear Davis's petition means that the constitutionality of same-sex marriage is reaffirmed, at least for now.”

Sources:

1. https://www.npr.org/2025/11/10/nx-s1-5604293/scotus-rejects-gay-marriage-appeal

2. https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-same-sex-marriage-50eb4ad421911696e742d8c4fb4962fd

3. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-rejects-long-shot-effort-overturn-sex-marriage-ruling-rcna241113

Answer 10

This Claim is accurate. A Kentucky municipal clerk named Kim Davis filed to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, a landmark Supreme Court case from 2015 that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. The Court declined to hear her case on November 10, 2025, and did not provide any explanation for its decision. This refusal means that the Court will not revisit the constitutional right to same-sex marriage at this time. However, the petition drew significant public attention because many people feared that the Court’s conservative majority might be willing to overturn the case, especially after it overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. The entire situation is covered by ABC News: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/supreme-court-denies-kim-davis-petition-overturn-same/story?id=127375530#:~:text=The%20Supreme%20Court%20on%20Monday,did%20not%20explain%20its%20decision.