The former Kentucky county clerk who made headlines a decade ago for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples is now appealing a ruling that orders her to pay thousands of dollars in attorney fees. Kim Davis, who objected to same-sex marriage on religious grounds, is seeking to overturn the landmark Obergefell ruling of 2015. Davis was briefly jailed for her refusal to issue a license to a same-sex couple, which sparked weeks of protests and ultimately led to her losing her bid for reelection in 2018.
Attorneys for Davis, who is the former Rowan County clerk, filed an appeal in federal court asking the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Cincinnati to overturn the ruling that requires her to pay $260,000 in attorney fees to the couple who sought a license from her office. The Liberty Counsel, a legal organization representing Davis, argues that she was entitled to a religious accommodation from issuing marriage licenses and criticizes the Supreme Court’s decision to allow same-sex couples to legally marry, calling it a “mistake” with disastrous results for individuals like Davis.
In addition to the attorney fees, Davis has also been ordered to pay $100,000 in damages to the couple who sued her for refusing to issue them a marriage license. Davis was released from jail in 2015 after her staff issued the licenses on her behalf but removed her name from the form. Following the controversy surrounding Davis’ actions, Kentucky’s state legislature enacted a law that removed the names of all county clerks from state marriage licenses, in an effort to prevent similar conflicts from arising in the future.
Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver issued a statement in support of Davis, emphasizing her right to a religious accommodation in her role as county clerk. Staver believes that Davis deserves justice in this case and highlights the difficulty that individuals like her face in participating in society without violating laws that conflict with their religious beliefs. The appeal brief filed by Davis’ legal team challenges the legality of the Obergefell ruling and its implications for individuals who hold religious objections to same-sex marriage.
The ongoing legal battle between Kim Davis and the couple who sued her represents a continued debate over the intersection of religious freedom and LGBTQ rights in the United States. Davis’ case has drawn national attention and sparked discussions about the rights of public officials to refuse to carry out duties that conflict with their religious beliefs. The outcome of the appeal filed by Davis will have implications not only for her own case, but also for the broader legal landscape surrounding issues of marriage equality and religious accommodations in the country.
