Kentucky County Clerk Who Refused to Issue Gay Marriage Licenses Appeals to the Supreme Court — As Future Of Same-Sex Unions Up In The Air 10 Years After Landmark Decision
Kim Davis is asking the Supreme Court to overturn same-sex marriages.
Aug. 12 2025, Published 6:45 p.m. ET
The future of same-sex marriages faces a new threat as a famous opponent from the past prepares to make her case to the Supreme Court, RadarOnline.com can report.
Kim Davis served nearly a week in jail in 2015, when the former Kentucky county clerk refused to issue same-sex marriage licenses because of her religious beliefs.
Kim Davis was sent to jail for five days when she refused to issue same-sex marriage licenses.
Davis, who is the former Rowan County clerk, is appealing a $100,000 jury verdict for emotional damages plus $260,000 in fees to attorneys who represented a couple who sought a license from her office.
The appeal has made its way to the Supreme Court, which has yet to announce if it will take a look at it or not.
However, as part of the appeal, the conservative legal group representing Davis also asked the court to overturn the entire ruling. The Liberty Counsel's Mat Staver said in a statement: "The High Court now has the opportunity to finally overturn this egregious opinion from 2015."
He added the original court decision "(pushes) the First Amendment aside to punish individuals for their beliefs about marriage."
RadarOnline.com has reached out to Staver and Davis for comment.
Her Toughest Choice
Davis cited her own personal religious reasons for her refusal.
Davis is an apostolic Christian who spent five days in custody in September 2015 after being held in contempt for refusing to issue licenses to same-sex couples.
When she was finally let out of jail and returned to work, she pledged she wouldn't further block the process, but admitted to wrestling with a "seemingly impossible choice" between following her "conscience" or keeping her "freedom."
Davis said that her office would distribute the licenses to same-sex couples "pursuant a federal court order" – but that she wouldn't personally be authorizing them, and considers them invalid.
"I don't want to have this conflict, I don't want to be in the spotlight, and I certainly don't want to be a whipping post," Davis told reporters gathered outside her Morehead, Kentucky office.
Davis is 'No Hero'
The Supreme Court has yet to announce if they will take her case.
Declaring herself "no hero," Davis at the time said she's "just a person that's been transformed by the grace of God, who wants to work and be with my family.
"I just want to serve my neighbors quietly without violating my conscience."
Davis said she harbors no ill will toward her staffers for distributing the licenses.
"I love my deputy clerks and I hate that they have been caught in the middle of any of this; if any of them feel that they must issue an authorized license to avoid being thrown in jail, I understand their tough choice and I will take no action against them."
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Divine Intervention
Just weeks later, Davis found support from the Pope himself, as she met the pontiff during the first leg of his three-city U.S. tour, crossing paths with him at Washington, D.C.'s Vatican Embassy.
She said upon meeting him, "I put my hand out and he reached and he grabbed it, and I hugged him and he hugged me. And he said, 'Thank you for your courage.'"
Davis said that the pope told her to "stay strong" during the visit, which lasted less than 15 minutes, and left her emotional.
"I was crying, I had tears coming out of my eyes," Davis told ABC News at the time. "I'm just a nobody, so it was really humbling to think he would want to meet or know me."
