LOVE WON AGAIN — EVEN AS RIGHTS FALL

In a world increasingly defined by the rollback of hard-won freedoms, a quiet but powerful victory for equality emerged this week from the United States.

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to revisit Obergefell v. Hodges, the landmark 2015 decision that recognized same-sex marriage as a constitutional right.

The Court’s decision to deny an appeal from Kim Davis—the former Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples—reaffirmed that love remains a constitutional right, not a privilege.

Davis, who once became a conservative hero after defying court orders in the name of “religious freedom,” now faces over $360,000 in damages and legal fees. Her legal team had hoped this appeal would create an opening for the conservative court to overturn Obergefell, just as it had done with Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that guaranteed abortion rights.

But the Court’s silence in refusing to take up the case was itself a message — one of cautious reassurance for millions of queer families in America and hope for LGBTQ+ people across the world.

WHEN RIGHTS FALL — AND WHEN THEY STAND

To understand the gravity of this moment, one must look back to June 2022, when the same U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, ending nearly fifty years of constitutional protection for abortion. That reversal triggered shockwaves around the globe.

For LGBTQ+ advocates, it wasn’t only about abortion—it was about precedent. Roe had been a symbol of bodily autonomy and privacy, the same constitutional principles that underpinned Obergefell. If the right to make decisions about one’s own body could fall, so too could the right to choose whom to love and marry.

Justice Clarence Thomas even suggested as much in a concurring opinion after Roe was struck down, explicitly naming Obergefell among the rulings that should be “reconsidered.”

That chilling statement emboldened far-right movements worldwide. From U.S. Christian nationalists to European populists, and all the way to Uganda’s own anti-rights crusaders, a familiar language of “protecting family values” began resurfacing in new, more coordinated ways.

THE GLOBAL ANTI-RIGHTS MOVEMENT — A SHARED SCRIPT

The Kim Davis case is not an isolated legal curiosity—it sits at the intersection of a well-funded, transnational anti-rights movement.

In both the United States and Uganda, conservative legal groups, religious institutions, and political actors are working hand-in-hand to roll back sexual and reproductive rights, often under the guise of “faith” and “morality.”

In the U.S., organizations like Liberty Counsel, which represented Kim Davis, have for years funded and mentored anti-LGBTQ campaigns across Africa. Their legal arguments, advocacy manuals, and theological messaging have crossed oceans, landing squarely in the speeches of Ugandan politicians and church leaders who championed the Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2023.

These networks share not just ideology but strategy:

• Attack courts that protect human rights.

• Undermine trust in liberal constitutions.

• Frame equality as “Western immorality.”

• And use “religious freedom” as a shield for discrimination.

The same logic that allowed Davis to deny marriage licenses in Kentucky underpins Uganda’s attempts to criminalize love itself.

LOVE, LAW, AND RESISTANCE

While the Supreme Court’s refusal to reopen Obergefell doesn’t set new precedent, it sends a powerful message: even in conservative courts, there remains an acknowledgment that love and equality are fundamental rights.

“Today, love won again,” said Kelley Robinson, President of the Human Rights Campaign. “When public officials take an oath to serve their communities, that promise extends to everyone – including LGBTQ+ people.”

For many Ugandan activists, this victory is bittersweet. It unfolds against a backdrop of intensified repression, censorship, and violence against queer communities at home. But it also reaffirms something our movements have always known: progress is not linear, but it is possible.

When rights fall in one place, the ripple is felt everywhere. When they stand, hope travels just as far.

A WIN AMIDST A HEAVY ROLLBACK

This moment is more than a legal technicality—it’s a reminder of the global nature of our struggle. As U.S. conservatives vow to continue fighting Obergefell, Ugandan lawmakers continue to justify violence in the name of “protecting tradition.”

And yet, amidst this global backlash, the Supreme Court’s quiet decision affirms something universal: that love, once recognized, cannot easily be erased.

From Kentucky to Kampala, we carry forward this truth — that every step toward justice anywhere is a step toward freedom everywhere.