Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has urged same-sex couples to “consider getting married” as the Supreme Court weighs whether to hear a case that could threaten federal protections for marriage equality.
The nation’s highest court is currently considering whether to take up an appeal from Kim Davis, the former Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in 2015. Davis spent six days in jail after defying the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges ruling, which legalised same-sex marriage across the US.
In her new petition, Davis is challenging a $100,000 jury award for emotional damages and $260,000 in legal fees. If the court agrees to hear the case, it would mark the first time SCOTUS has been formally asked to reconsider Obergefell.
Clinton’s warning
Speaking with Fox News’ Jessica Tarlov, Clinton drew parallels to the 2022 reversal of Roe v. Wade, which ended federal abortion rights.
“American voters, and to some extent the American media, don’t understand how many years the Republicans have been working in order to get us to this point,” she said.
“It took 50 years to overturn Roe v. Wade. The Supreme Court will hear a case about gay marriage. My prediction is they will do to gay marriage what they did to abortion. They will send it back to the states.”
Clinton added a direct call to action for couples:
“Anybody in a committed relationship out there in the LGBTQ community, you ought to consider getting married. ’Cause I don’t think they’ll undo existing marriages, but I fear that they will undo the national right.”
What’s at stake
If SCOTUS overturns Obergefell, the legality of same-sex marriage would revert to state-level decisions. Before the 2015 ruling, 37 states and Washington, D.C. allowed same-sex marriage.
While many Republican-led states could attempt to block new unions, the Respect for Marriage Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022, provides some protections. The Act requires every state to recognise same-sex and interracial marriages legally performed elsewhere, even if their own laws prohibit them.
Davis’ filing claims that couples who already married under Obergefell would remain legally wed.
William Powell, the attorney for the couple who sued Davis in 2015, expressed confidence the appeal would fail, telling Newsweek:
“I am confident the Supreme Court will likewise agree that Davis’s arguments do not merit further attention.”
