There were no noted dissents.

On Monday, the Supreme Court denied a request from county clerk turned anti-gay gadfly Kim Davis to reconsider and overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 decision recognizing same-sex couples’ constitutional right to marry. There were no noted dissents. It is not remotely surprising that the justices turned away Davis’ petition: There probably aren’t five votes to reconsider Obergefell today—and even if there were, this zombie case would be a terrible vehicle for doing so. No one should assume that gay equality is safe at the Supreme Court. But for now, at least, the Republican-appointed justices seem to prefer indirect assaults on the rights of gay Americans over a head-on attack on their core constitutional freedoms.

For more from Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern:

  • calliope@retrolemmy.comEnglish
    7·
    16 hours ago

    One couple whom Davis discriminated against sued her for violating their civil rights, and a jury ordered her to pay $360,000 in damages for attorneys’ fees. She and her lawyers at the fringe-right law firm Liberty Counsel have spent years fighting that award. And that is what Davis v. Ermold is really about.

    This part is also well said:

    Davis’ chief claim is that she should be able to raise a constitutional defense to the lawsuit against her, claiming a First Amendment right to deny the marriage license based on her own religious liberty. She lost that argument at every court below, because—and this is pretty obvious—an agent of the state who’s performing a government service has no right to unlawfully discriminate against members of the public. Nor does such an individual have any entitlement to take the law into her own hands, defy a court order, and decline to perform the basic functions of her office.

    It’s unconscionable that a law firm exists that takes on these cases. Clowns.

    These stupid motherfuckers are quietly arguing that local clerks should be able to discriminate based on their personal beliefs.