Supreme Court Declines to Revisit Same-Sex Marriage Ruling | What It Means for LGBTQ+ Rights | APT - video Dailymotion

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The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to revisit its 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision, leaving nationwide marriage equality in place.  The Court on November 10, rejected an appeal from former Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis, who became a national figure after refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples citing her religious beliefs.  Davis had asked the Court to overturn Obergefell, the landmark ruling that recognized a constitutional right to same-sex marriage. The justices declined to hear her case, offering reassurance to LGBTQ+ advocates concerned that the Court’s conservative majority might reopen the issue.  Justice Anthony Kennedy’s 2015 opinion in Obergefell affirmed that “no union is more profound than marriage,” a statement that continues to resonate with millions of Americans.  #SupremeCourt #SameSexMarriage #KimDavis #ObergefellvHodges #LGBTQRights #MarriageEquality #BreakingNews #SCOTUS #LGBTQNews #EqualRights #NewsUpdate #SupremeCourtNews #CivilRights #LegalNews

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00:00Music

00:15The Supreme Court has declined to revisit its landmark 2015 ruling

00:20that legalised same-sex marriage nationwide,

00:23leaving the decade-old decision intact.

00:26The High Court on November 10 rejected an appeal from former Kentucky County Clerk Kim Davis,

00:32who drew international attention for refusing to issue marriage licences to same-sex couples.

00:38Davis had asked the court to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges,

00:43arguing that her religious beliefs should protect her from paying damages

00:47to couples she denied licences after the 2015 ruling.

00:51As per CNN, lower courts had previously ordered her to pay more than $360,000 in damages and legal fees.

01:00The Supreme Court declined to hear her appeal without explanation,

01:05a decision that offered reassurance to LGBTQ plus advocates

01:10who feared that the court's conservative majority might reconsider the landmark ruling.

01:15As USA Today notes, the Justice's refusal to take up the case leaves Obergefell untouched,

01:23safeguarding the nationwide right to same-sex marriage

01:26that millions of Americans rely on to legally recognise their families.

01:30Obergefell v. Hodges was decided in June 2015,

01:35with Justice Anthony Kennedy writing that

01:38no union is more profound than marriage.

01:42He called it an embodiment of love, fidelity, and family.

01:47The decision sparked celebrations across the country,

01:50including the White House being lit in rainbow colours that evening.

01:54Since then, more than 800,000 same-sex couples have married in the United States,

02:00according to the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law,

02:03more than double the number in 2015.

02:07Some Conservatives have long criticised the ruling.

02:10As USA Today recalls, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in his 2015 dissent,

02:16Today, five lawyers have ordered every state to change their definition of marriage.

02:23Just who do we think we are?

02:25And when the court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022,

02:30Justice Clarence Thomas suggested that past rulings on contraception,

02:35same-sex relationships, and same-sex marriage should also be reconsidered.

02:40However, USA Today noted that there has not been a comparable conservative movement targeting marriage equality.

02:47Davis first drew attention after she refused to issue marriage licences following the Obergefell decision,

02:54citing her religious beliefs.

02:56She was jailed for five days on a contempt charge after defying a federal court order to comply.

03:03According to CNN, her latest appeal argued that legal protections for public officials should shield her from liability.

03:11The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected that argument before the case reached the Supreme Court.

03:17Her lawyers described the case as the first real test of whether religious liberty could coexist with the Obergefell precedent,

03:25but the High Court declined to hear it.

03:28LGBTQ plus advocates welcomed the decision.

03:32Mary Bonauto, senior director of LGBTQ legal advocates and defenders, told USA Today.

03:39There's good reason for the Supreme Court to deny review in this case,

03:42rather than unsettle something so positive for couples, children, families, and the larger society as marriage equality.

03:50As CNN notes, the Supreme Court's refusal to revisit Obergefell versus Hodges does not set a new legal precedent,

03:59but it leaves the 2015 ruling fully intact.

04:03For millions of same-sex couples, the constitutional right to marry remains protected.

04:09For Kim Davis, the legal battle and the controversy surrounding her defiance has come to an end.

Supreme Court Declines to Revisit Same-Sex Marriage Ruling | What It Means for LGBTQ+ Rights | APT

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