Reaction in Alabama over Supreme Court petition to overturn same-sex marriage ruling

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - A former Kentucky county clerk asked the Supreme Court to overturn the landmark 2015 decision that legalized gay marriage.

On Monday, the Supreme Court was asked to weigh two different things:

1) Whether former Rowan Co. clerk Kim Davis was protected by the First Amendment to deny marriage licenses for same-sex couples because of her religious beliefs

2) Whether the decision to legalize same-sex marriage under the 14th Amendment was appropriate in Obergefell v. Hodges

“Because of Dobbs, there may be a good chance that this case will be a religious issue -- that this same-sex marriage will be reviewed,” said Eric Johnston, a lawyer who helped shape Alabama’s policies banning same-sex marriage before Obergefell v. Hodges.

He said the U.S. Supreme Court looks different from when it ruled 5-4 to legalize same-sex marriage in 2015. Johnston said the court could make a similar decision to the 2022 reversal of Roe v. Wade.

Johnston said denying marriage licenses for same-sex couples is a matter of religious freedom for Kim Davis.

“Becoming a state employee does not remove your religious freedom protection and I think she’s entitled to that,” he said.

Paul Eknes-Tucker, a Birmingham pastor and LGBTQ community member and advocate, said Davis’ personal argument is a closed case.

“It is a shame that it’s going to hopefully waste court time because this decision has been settled,” he said.

Earlier this year, a federal court ruled against Davis’ argument that she was protected by the First Amendment when she denied the licenses.

Eknes-Tucker said the request is not the first hurdle for the LGBTQ community since the landmark gay marriage ruling a decade ago.

“We have been through these things before, we’ll get through them again and we will stand together,” he said.

If the Supreme Court decides to take the case, they could decide to rule in a combination of ways -- they could rule in favor of Davis’ argument on her religious-protections argument, but they could still uphold the ruling of Obergefell v. Hodges; they could rule oppositely, or they could take an entirely different route.

The U.S. Supreme Court hears less than one percent of cases that are brought to their judicial level.

Not reading this story on the WSFA News App? Get news alerts FASTER and FREE in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store!