{"id":130388,"date":"2025-08-13T12:26:01","date_gmt":"2025-08-13T20:26:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/08\/13\/it-is-absolutely-time-to-panic-about-marriage-equality\/"},"modified":"2025-08-13T12:26:01","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T20:26:01","slug":"it-is-absolutely-time-to-panic-about-marriage-equality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/08\/13\/it-is-absolutely-time-to-panic-about-marriage-equality\/","title":{"rendered":"It Is Absolutely Time To Panic About Marriage Equality"},"content":{"rendered":"

Turns out Kim Davis\u2019s <\/a>15 minutes of fame aren\u2019t over yet. <\/p>\n

You probably thought the Kentucky clerk who refused to follow the law and wouldn\u2019t provide same-sex couples<\/a> with marriage licenses in the wake of the landmark marriage equality<\/a> case Obergefell v. Hodges<\/a><\/em>, was, like skinny jeans and side parts, a sign of a bygone era. But now that flouting the law until it bends to your preferred religious proclivities is all the rage, Davis is back.<\/p>\n

Davis is appealing an order directing her to pay a same-sex couple $100,000 in compensation (plus attorneys fees) for denying them a marriage license. In the appeal, Davis asks the Supreme Court<\/a> to overturn the Obergefell <\/em>case, and even the ask is deeply concerning. Because if you\u2019ve been paying attention,\u00a0you know the Supreme Court<\/a>\u00a0is gunning for\u00a0Obergefell<\/em>.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s not just the doom-vibes of 2025 that has me predicting yet another roll back of rights. There\u2019s plenty of written evidence that demonstrated a majority of the Court is ready to end marriage equality.<\/p>\n

It all started with Samuel Alito\u2019s unhinged dissent in Obergefell<\/em>, and\u00a0he still can\u2019t let it go.<\/a>\u00a0 In 2020, in a denial of cert in another case involving Davis, Alito and Thomas railed<\/a> against Obergefell<\/em> and its \u201cruinous consequences for religious liberty.\u201d Then there was Alito\u2019s *majority* opinion overturning established precedent guaranteeing the right to reproductive freedom in\u00a0Dobbs<\/em>, which\u00a0creates parallels<\/a>\u00a0between the right established in\u00a0Obergefell\u00a0<\/em>and reproductive freedom, as they\u2019re not \u201cdeeply rooted in history.\u201d And, of course, the\u00a0concurrence in that case written by Clarence Thomas<\/a> explicitly says the Court should \u201creconsider\u201d its jurisprudence on marriage equality (as well as the Court\u2019s holdings on consensual sexual contact and contraception, so there\u2019s more horror to look forward to).<\/p>\n

Of course, not everyone sees the downfall of marriage equality in the tea leaves. Axios<\/a> has a panel of experts, like Mary Bonauto, attorney to\u00a0Jim Obergefell,\u00a0who are more optimistic. Bonauto said, \u201cThere\u2019s good reason for the Supreme Court to deny review in this case rather than unsettle something so positive for couples, children, families and the larger society as marriage equality.\u201d <\/p>\n

Oh, my dear sweet summer child. No matter how much you and I (and\u00a069% of Americans<\/a>)\u00a0see marriage equality as a societal good, Alito very much sees it<\/a> differently. The current Court is disturbingly down with\u00a0shredding precedent<\/a>\u00a0and issuing decisions\u00a0wildly out of line<\/a>\u00a0with what the\u00a0majority of Americans<\/a>\u00a0believe as long as it fits\u00a0*their* vision<\/a>\u00a0of what the country should be. So, yeah. It\u2019s time to start prepping for a regression.<\/p>\n

California and Hawaii are already ensuring zombie laws<\/a> that predate Obergefell<\/em> don\u2019t come back from the dead. And estate lawyers are available<\/a> to protect couples\u2019 relationships with contracts. Because the time to worry is now.<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast<\/a>, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her<\/a> with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1<\/a>\u00a0or Mastodon @Kathryn1@mastodon.social.<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post It Is Absolutely Time To Panic About Marriage Equality<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tKim Davis (Photo by Ty Wright\/Getty)\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Turns out Kim Davis\u2019s <\/a>15 minutes of fame aren\u2019t over yet. <\/p>\n

You probably thought the Kentucky clerk who refused to follow the law and wouldn\u2019t provide same-sex couples<\/a> with marriage licenses in the wake of the landmark marriage equality<\/a> case Obergefell v. Hodges<\/a><\/em>, was, like skinny jeans and side parts, a sign of a bygone era. But now that flouting the law until it bends to your preferred religious proclivities is all the rage, Davis is back.<\/p>\n

Davis is appealing an order directing her to pay a same-sex couple $100,000 in compensation (plus attorneys fees) for denying them a marriage license. In the appeal, Davis asks the Supreme Court<\/a> to overturn the Obergefell <\/em>case, and even the ask is deeply concerning. Because if you\u2019ve been paying attention,\u00a0you know the Supreme Court<\/a>\u00a0is gunning for\u00a0Obergefell<\/em>.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s not just the doom-vibes of 2025 that has me predicting yet another roll back of rights. There\u2019s plenty of written evidence that demonstrated a majority of the Court is ready to end marriage equality.<\/p>\n

It all started with Samuel Alito\u2019s unhinged dissent in Obergefell<\/em>, and\u00a0he still can\u2019t let it go.<\/a>\u00a0 In 2020, in a denial of cert in another case involving Davis, Alito and Thomas railed<\/a> against Obergefell<\/em> and its \u201cruinous consequences for religious liberty.\u201d Then there was Alito\u2019s *majority* opinion overturning established precedent guaranteeing the right to reproductive freedom in\u00a0Dobbs<\/em>, which\u00a0creates parallels<\/a>\u00a0between the right established in\u00a0Obergefell\u00a0<\/em>and reproductive freedom, as they\u2019re not \u201cdeeply rooted in history.\u201d And, of course, the\u00a0concurrence in that case written by Clarence Thomas<\/a> explicitly says the Court should \u201creconsider\u201d its jurisprudence on marriage equality (as well as the Court\u2019s holdings on consensual sexual contact and contraception, so there\u2019s more horror to look forward to).<\/p>\n

Of course, not everyone sees the downfall of marriage equality in the tea leaves. Axios<\/a> has a panel of experts, like Mary Bonauto, attorney to\u00a0Jim Obergefell,\u00a0who are more optimistic. Bonauto said, \u201cThere\u2019s good reason for the Supreme Court to deny review in this case rather than unsettle something so positive for couples, children, families and the larger society as marriage equality.\u201d <\/p>\n

Oh, my dear sweet summer child. No matter how much you and I (and\u00a069% of Americans<\/a>)\u00a0see marriage equality as a societal good, Alito very much sees it<\/a> differently. The current Court is disturbingly down with\u00a0shredding precedent<\/a>\u00a0and issuing decisions\u00a0wildly out of line<\/a>\u00a0with what the\u00a0majority of Americans<\/a>\u00a0believe as long as it fits\u00a0*their* vision<\/a>\u00a0of what the country should be. So, yeah. It\u2019s time to start prepping for a regression.<\/p>\n

California and Hawaii are already ensuring zombie laws<\/a> that predate Obergefell<\/em> don\u2019t come back from the dead. And estate lawyers are available<\/a> to protect couples\u2019 relationships with contracts. Because the time to worry is now.<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast<\/a>, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her<\/a> with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1<\/a>\u00a0or Mastodon @[email\u00a0protected].<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Turns out Kim Davis\u2019s 15 minutes of fame aren\u2019t over yet. You probably thought the Kentucky clerk who refused to follow the law and wouldn\u2019t provide same-sex couples with marriage licenses in the wake of the landmark marriage equality case Obergefell v. Hodges, was, like skinny jeans and side parts, a sign of a bygone […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":130389,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-130388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_5243-1-scaled-e1623338814705-620x568-QUks1c.jpg?fit=620%2C568&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=130388"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130388\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/130389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=130388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=130388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=130388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}