Staff Reports
The former Kentucky clerk, Kim Davis, who made headlines for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, is once again in the spotlight for having to cough up a hefty sum to the lawyers of a gay couple she denied nearly a decade ago.
Kentucky clerk Kim Davis ordered to pay additional $260K to gay couple whose marriage license she denied https://t.co/bO0EOD2EtJ pic.twitter.com/Mn79rijSaT
— New York Post (@nypost) January 3, 2024
Davis, a Republican, has been ordered by a federal judge to pay a whopping $260,000 in attorney fees and expenses to David Ermold and David Moore, the couple she infamously denied a marriage license. This ruling comes after Davis was already ordered to pay the couple $100,000 by a federal jury last year.
US District Judge David Bunning, who previously sent Davis to jail over the marriage license issue, sided with the couple, stating that they were fighting for their fundamental right to marry and obtain marriage licenses, which they ultimately succeeded in doing.
Despite the Supreme Court’s decision to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide, Davis stuck to her religious convictions and refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples during her time as the Rowan County clerk. This sparked a legal battle that has now resulted in significant financial repercussions for Davis.
Represented by the Liberty Counsel, a religious liberty group, Davis is not taking the judgment lightly and plans to appeal the ruling on the grounds that the fees are excessive. If that appeal fails, the group intends to take the case to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Davis, an evangelical Christian, claimed that her staunch opposition to same-sex marriage was rooted in her religious beliefs. Despite facing accusations of homophobia and spending time behind bars for her refusal, she remained steadfast in her stance on the issue.
The controversial case attracted widespread media attention and even became fodder for a parody on “Saturday Night Live.” Davis was ultimately voted out of her clerk position in 2018.
This latest development serves as another chapter in the ongoing saga of Kim Davis, further cementing her polarizing legacy as a staunch defender of religious liberty, much to the chagrin of her opponents.
