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John,
Headlines can be scary. We all have limited capacity to process the onslaught of headlines, and figure out how best to respond.
In 2015, Kim Davis, then a county clerk in Kentucky, refused to issue a marriage license to same-sex couples and instructed her staff not to do so either, despite the Supreme Court’s marriage equality ruling in Obergefell. In 2022, the court awarded a couple, David Ermold and David Moore, damages for emotional distress following Davis’ refusal to follow the law.
Last month, that same Kim Davis filed a petition asking the Supreme Court to review David Ermold v. Kim Davis . As part of that petition (called a “cert petition”), her attorneys have included a request to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges , the 2015 Supreme Court decision that affirmed the freedom to marry for same-sex couples nationwide.
The Supreme Court receives thousands of petitions each year. In recent years, the Court has granted fewer than 100. For a number of reasons, it is unlikely the Supreme Court would consider this case’s request regarding Obergefell. A “cert petition” is only a request for the Supreme Court to hear the case, there is no guarantee that it will do so and they already denied this exact case in 2020. Kim Davis’ case is extremely narrow. The status of her case is that a jury awarded a same-sex couple emotional distress damages because Clerk Davis and her office denied a couple a marriage license several times.
It’s important to remember that we do have safeguards like the Respect For Marriage Act– signed by President Biden in 2022– which requires all states to recognize legal marriages of same-sex and interracial couples performed in any state.
And in Virginia we are proactively working together to protect marriage equality by passing a constitutional amendment that would not only remove a now-defunct ban on same-sex marriage but also replace it with an affirmative right to marry for all Virginians regardless of race, sex or gender. Earlier this year the Virginia General Assembly passed HJ 9 (Sickles) & SJ 249 (Ebbin) which is the first step in amending Virginia's constitution to remove our outdated ban on same-same marriage and replace it with an affirmative right to marry for all Virginians. Next year, the General Assembly must pass the resolutions again so YOU can vote in 2026 to make it official.
SCOTUS isn’t coming for marriage– not anytime soon. What we do know is that they are already confirmed to hear cases regarding conversion therapy and transgender rights during their next term.
It took advocacy, organizing and legal strategy to win marriage a decade ago. And it will take advocacy, organizing and legal strategy to continue to protect all of our rights. I hope you’ll join us for an upcoming voter contact event ahead of the election as we work to mobilize 70,000 Equality Voters across Virginia [[link removed]] .
By organizing our communities, voting this November and electing pro-equality candidates we can ensure Virginia keeps moving forward- no matter what happens in D.C.
With Clear Eyes,
Team Equality Virginia
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