The Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists praised a U.S. Supreme Court decision not to take up a challenge to the landmark 2015 ruling that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.
Brian Henderson
“In a time when the politics of our day bring overwhelmingly difficult and hurtful decisions against our LGBTQ siblings and families, including the trans and nonbinary community, AWAB welcomes encouraging news as the Supreme Court delivered today upholding Obergefell and same-sex marriage. AWAB continues to stand in solidarity with our queer family of faith across the Baptist landscape doing what we can offering courage in these dark days,” said Brian Henderson, AWAB executive director.
The challenge was brought by Kim Davis, a former Kentucky county clerk who faces hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages and legal fees for refusing to issue marriage licenses after the court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges. Davis has become a cause célèbres among evangelical conservatives who believe same-sex marriage is forbidden by God.
With shifts in the high court since 2015, some evangelicals were hopeful Davis might prevail in her challenge, but the Supreme Court Monday morning declined to accept her case.
The court did not explain its reasoning to deny the appeal.
Davis was jailed in 2015 after being held in contempt for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. A jury fined Davis $360,000 for refusing to file legal marriage licenses. She appealed that verdict to the Supreme Court, claiming First Amendment protection for free exercise of religion immunizes her from personal liability for denying marriage licenses to couples based on her own personal religious beliefs. At the same time, she claimed the court’s 2015 decision was “egregiously wrong” and should be reconsidered.
Davis was represented by Liberty Counsel, the evangelical legal advocacy group that successfully represented Hobby Lobby Stores in its case challenging the Affordable Care Act’s contraception mandate on religious freedom grounds.