US Supreme Court asked to hear case that could overturn gay marriage rights

The case is brought by a former county clerk in Kentucky, who was jailed for refusing to issue marriage licences to same-sex couples on religious grounds.

Kim Davis served a five-day prison sentence for refusing to give David Ermold and David Moore a marriage license in 2015. She also had to pay the couple $100,000 in emotional damages and $260,000 to cover legal fees.

She is now appealing that decision and the payments, arguing that her First Amendment rights should have protected her and allowed her to practice her religion freely.

The infamous former clerk also called Obergefell v Hodges, the 2015 landmark ruling that extended marriage rights to same-sex couples across the nation, a “legal fiction” that was "egregiously wrong”.

“The mistake must be corrected,” wrote Matthew Davis, her attorney and the founder of Liberty Counsel, the nonprofit law firm representing Davis, in the petition.

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"If there ever was a case of exceptional importance," Staver wrote, "the first individual in the Republic's history who was jailed for following her religious convictions regarding the historic definition of marriage, this should be it."

“Davis was jailed, haled before a jury, and now faces crippling monetary damages based on nothing more than purported emotional distress,” the filing continued.

It is the first time since 2015 the court has been formally asked to overturn the ruling that legalised gay marriage. At the time, Davis was the only person that could issue marriage licences on behalf of the government in Rowan County.

She has tried to get the case heard by several lower courts, but her claims have been dismissed. The couple who originally sued Davis have also said the Supreme Court should refuse to hear the case.

“Not a single judge on the US Court of Appeals showed any interest in Davis’s rehearing petition, and we are confident the Supreme Court will likewise agree that Davis’s arguments do not merit further attention,” their lawyer told ABC News.

It comes amid a wider movement against same-sex marriage by US conservatives, including the protections given by Obergefell.

At the time of writing, at least nine states have laws designed to block new licenses for same-sex marriages, or resolutions to overturn the 2015 landmark ruling.

In June this year, the US’s largest Protestant Christian denomination and second largest Christian denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention, made overturning the ruling a top priority.

If the Supreme Court does hear Davis’ case and decides to overturn the decision, marriage law would go back to state control. However, it would not invalidate existing gay marriages, which are protected by the 2022 Respect for Marriage Act.