Caffeinated Politics

I admit to having felt part relief and part disbelief with the news headline that splashed on my newsfeed today. I simply could not fathom that we are even needing to again swat down the hatemongers when it comes to gay marriage. The headlines from multiple news sources basically read the same. The Supreme Court rejects a call to overturn its decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide.

Today, we had to once again endure the latest antics of Kim Davis, who simply cannot adjust to the norms of the 21st Century. Here is what I know to be true after her latest attempt to derail my marriage and every other gay couple. It was not just a defeat in the Supreme Court. No, it was far more than that. She should accept it as a moral indictment of her complete hypocrisy. She tried to weaponize her office against citizens exercising their legal rights, and she failed. Her attempt to undermine the constitutional right to same-sex marriage collapsed under the weight of sickening irony: a woman with multiple marriages behind her, lecturing others about the “sanctity” of marriage. The Court’s refusal to revisit Obergefell v. Hodges was a quiet but decisive affirmation that equality under the law is not negotiable.

When Kim Davis first made headlines in 2015, she was not a neutral bureaucrat caught in a clash of conscience. She was a county hack…err….clerk…who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, defying the Supreme Court’s landmark Obergefell ruling. Her defiance was framed as a stand for religious liberty, but in reality, it was an attempt to deny fellow citizens their constitutional rights. Now, a decade later, Davis resurfaced with a longshot appeal, asking the Supreme Court to overturn Obergefell itself. The justices, without comment, rejected her petition.

The rejection speaks volumes. The Court did not dignify Davis’s arguments with a hearing, nor did any justice publicly dissent from the denial. This silence is telling as the constitutional right to marriage equality is settled law, and despite fears after the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the Court chose not to reopen a battle that would destabilize civil rights nationwide. The justices understood that revisiting Obergefell would not only strip rights from millions of LGBTQ Americans but also erode the legitimacy of the Court itself.

What makes Davis’s crusade completely galling is the personal irony of her own marital history. She has been married multiple times—four, by most accounts, to three different men. Do the odd math! Yet, with her family tree, she presumes to define what constitutes the “sanctity” of marriage in my home!! How dare she! She continues to smear and defame gay married couples for seeking the same legal recognition one time that she has used multiple times. Her moral authority completely collapses under only scant scrutiny.

I know firsthand the overt bigotry and cruelty of homophobes. At age 62, I know the political battles and legal cases that were waged to secure the rights that gay people have in our nation today. I know the bravery of gay people who made public statements that made them targets of ridicule. I know of the quieter but no less brave actions as men and women came out to their families and took their partner home for the holidays. So, I find it personally offensive (and if my post thus far seems pointed and harsh), it is because Davis acts in such a cavalier manner concerning all those who wanted a married commitment with the love of their life but first had to face ugly prejudices and legal barriers.

The Supreme Court’s rejection of Davis’s appeal is a reminder that civil rights are not subject to the whims of individual clerks or the shifting tides of political ideology. Obergefell v. Hodges established that marriage is a fundamental right, and the Court’s refusal to revisit that ruling affirms that equality remains a cornerstone of American constitutional law. Period. Full stop.