The U.S. Supreme Court has once again made headlines—this time by refusing to revisit its landmark 2015 decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. On Monday, November 10, 2025, the high court declined to hear an appeal from Kim Davis, the former Kentucky county clerk whose refusal to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples nearly a decade ago ignited a storm of legal and cultural debate. The justices offered no explanation for their decision, which leaves the precedent set by Obergefell v. Hodges firmly in place and marks another pivotal moment in America’s ongoing struggle over marriage rights.
Davis, who became a national figure after her high-profile defiance of the Supreme Court’s 2015 ruling, had asked the court to overturn the decision that guaranteed same-sex couples the right to marry. Her refusal, rooted in her religious beliefs, led to a lengthy legal battle and, ultimately, to her spending six days in jail. According to Reuters, a jury later awarded the couple she denied—David Ermold and David Moore—emotional damages and $260,000 in attorney’s fees, with Davis ordered to pay a total of $360,000 in damages and legal costs.
In her petition, Davis argued that the First Amendment’s protection for the free exercise of religion should shield her from personal liability for denying marriage licenses. She also described the Obergefell decision as “legal fiction.” But lower courts dismissed her claims, and most legal experts viewed her Supreme Court bid as a long shot. As Notre Dame Law professor Richard W. Garnett told CNN, “Although various commentators and activists have spent weeks claiming that a vehicle for overturning Obergefell was being considered by the justices, no informed Court observers ever thought that the Court would grant review in this case.”
The Supreme Court’s refusal to hear Davis’s appeal comes at a time when the court’s 6-3 conservative majority has stoked fears among LGBTQ advocates that hard-won rights could be at risk. The anxiety was not unfounded, especially after the court struck down the constitutional right to abortion in 2022—a move that demonstrated the justices’ willingness to revisit and overturn long-standing precedents. Yet, when it came to marriage equality, the court chose not to act, requiring at least four justices to vote in favor of taking the case but falling short of that threshold.
The Human Rights Campaign, one of the largest LGBTQ advocacy organizations in the country, welcomed the decision. Its president, Kelley Robinson, declared, “Today, love won again.” She added, “When public officials take an oath to serve their communities, that promise extends to everyone including LGBTQ+ people.” Robinson also emphasized, “The Supreme Court made clear today that refusing to respect the constitutional rights of others does not come without consequences.”
The roots of this legal saga stretch back to Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 Supreme Court case that fundamentally reshaped American family law. The ruling required all states to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and recognize marriages performed elsewhere, ending decades of legal battles and providing equal legal recognition, protections, and benefits for same-sex couples under federal and state laws. As Mary Bonauto, the attorney who successfully argued Obergefell, put it in a statement to NBC News, “Ten years ago, the Supreme Court rightly recognized that equal protection requires access to legal marriage for same-sex couples on the same terms and conditions as others, and reaffirmed the long-established principle that people, not the government, should be able to decide who they marry.” She continued, “The only thing that has changed since Obergefell was decided is that people across the country have seen how marriage equality provides protection for families and children, and that protection strengthens communities, the economy and our society.”
Indeed, the impact of Obergefell has been profound and far-reaching. According to the Williams Institute at UCLA Law School, there are now an estimated 823,000 married same-sex couples in the United States, including 591,000 who wed after the Supreme Court’s 2015 decision. Nearly one in five of those couples is parenting a child under 18, underscoring the ruling’s significance for families across the country.
Yet, the fight over marriage rights is far from settled. According to Lambda Legal, at least nine states in 2025 have either introduced legislation aimed at blocking new marriage licenses for LGBTQ people or passed resolutions urging the Supreme Court to reverse Obergefell as soon as possible. In June, the Southern Baptist Convention—the nation’s largest Protestant Christian denomination—overwhelmingly voted to make “overturning of laws and court rulings, including Obergefell v. Hodges, that defy God’s design for marriage and family” a top priority. And just last month, Texas courts adopted new rules allowing judges statewide to refuse to perform wedding ceremonies for same-sex couples if it would violate a sincerely held religious belief.
Within the Supreme Court itself, opinions on the issue remain complex. Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John Roberts, and Justice Samuel Alito were all in the minority opposing the 2015 ruling. While Alito has continued to criticize the decision historically, he recently stated that he does not call for its reversal today. Roberts, for his part, has remained silent on the matter since his initial opposition. Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who joined the court after Obergefell, has acknowledged that some decisions can be revisited, as was the case with abortion in 2022, but she also noted that the same-sex marriage issue is different because millions of Americans have come to rely on the current legal status to build their families.
Public opinion, meanwhile, continues to tilt in favor of marriage equality, though with some signs of shifting winds. Gallup polling shows that 70% of Americans supported same-sex marriage in 2025, a figure that has held steady since 2020. However, support among Republicans has declined, dropping from 55% in 2021 to 41% in 2025. The stability of national support masks deepening partisan divides, with some conservative lawmakers and religious groups pushing hard for a return to state-level control over marriage laws.
William Powell, attorney for the couple denied a license by Davis, summed up the significance of the Supreme Court’s decision: “The Supreme Court’s denial of review confirms what we already knew: same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry, and Kim Davis’s refusal to issue marriage licenses in defiance of Obergefell plainly violated that right. This is a win for same-sex couples everywhere who have built their families and lives around the right to marry.”
For now, the Supreme Court’s decision to leave Obergefell untouched means millions of Americans can breathe easier, knowing that their families remain protected under the law. The struggle over marriage rights, however, is far from over—echoing through courtrooms, legislatures, and communities across the nation as the debate over equality and religious liberty continues to evolve.
