Echoing the legal battles of Kim Davis, Waco Justice of the Peace Dianne Hensley has filed a federal lawsuit seeking to topple Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.
Represented by Jonathan Mitchell—the architect of the Texas abortion ban—Hensley is suing the State Commission on Judicial Conduct. The suit argues that the Obergefell ruling is unconstitutional because it “subordinated state law to the policy preferences of unelected judges.”
“The federal judiciary has no authority to recognize or invent ‘fundamental’ constitutional rights,” Mitchell wrote.
While this aggressive push is designed to stir up fear and headlines, legal experts suggest it faces a nearly impossible uphill battle.
Just weeks ago, the U.S. Supreme Court explicitly declined to hear an almost identical appeal from Kim Davis.
By refusing her case, the current Court signaled it is not yet interested in re-opening the settled law of Obergefell, despite its conservative makeup.
