Kim Davis’ life just got worse
Former Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis gained national notoriety in 2015 when she refused to issue a marriage license to a gay couple, despite the United States Supreme Court ruling in June 2015 that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.
She went to jail for several days rather than comply with a court order to issue licenses to same-sex couples. And she became the darling of the right-wing for doing so. Her life since then hasn’t been exactly a bed of roses.
Related: Judge orders Kentucky clerk to issue same-sex marriage licenses
Even though as a candidate for governor Matt Bevin praised her as “an inspiration … to the children of America”, Kentucky Gov. Bevin has now intervened in a lawsuit to determine who should pay Davis’ legal expenses.
“Thursday, a three-judge panel at the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati will hear both arguments about who should pay for the case’s expenses,” said Jake Thomas, writing in The Intellectualist website. “In 2017, a district judge ruled that the couple who sued for marriage licenses prevailed and the state of Kentucky would pay their fees.”
The trial court ordered the state to pay more than $222,000 in legal fees for the gay and straight couples who sued Davis for her refusal to issue licenses.
“Governor Bevin appealed the ruling, hoping to pass off the expense to the Rowan County clerk’s office. The governor’s lawyers insisted that Davis was acting alone without state support.
"Only Davis refused to comply with the law as was her obligation and as required by the oath of office she took," Bevin attorney Palmer G. Vance II wrote in a brief filed with the court according to CBS News.
Davis’ attorneys argue that she acted on behalf of the state.
It appears that Gov. Bevin still supports Davis. His in-house attorney, Steve Pitt told The Associated Press that the governor has “taken no position as to whether Ms. Davis acted unconstitutionally.”
Pitt continued, "Governor Bevin does not believe that she has done so and continues to support Ms. Davis's actions. Our outside counsel have only argued, given the court's ruling, that if constitutional rights were violated, the taxpayers of Kentucky are not responsible to pay the ACLU's attorney fees."
In addition to the possibility that she will be responsible for legal fees in the case, Rowan County voters turned Davis out of office when she ran for reelection.
Copyright The Gayly – January 31, 2019 @ 9:30 a.m. CST.