The former Kentucky clerk who steadfastly refused to grant marriage licenses to gay couples for religious reasons must pay more than $260K to the applicants.
Kim Davis was the Rowan County clerk when she rejected two men who applied to be married after the U.S. Supreme Court established the right in 2015. She is an evangelical Christian who adheres to traditional teachings on the sanctity of marriage.
Davis’ job required her to turn her back on these beliefs after the high court’s ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015.
Anyone know of a financial support campaign for Kim Davis, the Christian lady in Kentucky who would not give a marriage permit to two men? GoFundMe denied her cause. She was just hit w/ $350K in fines. Please retweet.https://t.co/3tMRJ7TodE
— John White (@befaithful10) January 2, 2024
Her attorneys argued that the huge sum is excessive, but U.S. District Judge David L. Bunning did not budge. He told the court that Davis’ lawyers “exaggerated” in their defense of the former clerk.
The $260,000 is piled on top of the $100,000 in damages a federal jury ordered Davis to shell out to David Ermold and David Moore. That judgment came last September in the two men’s suit claiming they were harmed by her refusal to grant them a marriage license.
Davis stood by her First Amendment right to freedom of religion, but this liberty has now been rejected by both judge and jury.
When confronted by leftist protesters in Kentucky, Davis told them she was following God’s authority. Her attorneys are expected to appeal the granting of the enormous sum to the two men.
Davis, who ran for clerk as a Republican, already spent five days in jail for her beliefs. She was deemed to be in contempt of court for her refusal to sanction gay marriage.
Bunning, the judge who ordered Davis to pay another $260,000 for her supposed misdeeds, is the same judge who sentenced her to jail in 2015.
While she was behind bars, Rowan County staffers removed her name from marriage documents and granted them to gay couples. This led to Davis being released from custody.
She was voted out of office in 2018.
Religious freedom organization Liberty Counsel argued that the fees are excessive. If the motion is denied, they intend to seek relief from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Davis held steadfast to her convictions throughout the ordeal. She repeatedly told reporters that she believes that marriage is only meant to involve one man and one woman, which of course is biblical.
