KENTUCKY (Transatlantic Today) – A federal court has found that a Kentucky clerk violated the constitutional rights of 2 same-sex couples who have been among those to whom she refused to issue marriage licenses, a refusal that drew worldwide interest and placed her in prison for a brief period in 2015.
In two long-running cases concerning Kim Davis, the former clerk of Rowan County, and 2 same-sex couples who sued her, US District Judge David Bunning in Ashland announced the verdict on Friday. According to ABC NEWS, a jury trial would still be required to determine whatever damages the couple may be awarded as a result of the judgment.
Davis cannot claim her own constitutional rights as a cover to undermine the constitutional rights of people while serving as an elected official, according to Bunning.
Davis, a Christian who also has a religious disagreement with same-sex marriage, ceased issuing marriage licenses shortly after the Supreme Court ruling in 2015 that gave same-sex couples worldwide the right to marry.
As a result of the cases, a court-ordered Davis to issue the licenses. She was sued by both straight and gay couples for her denial, and she spent 5 days in prison as a result.
Her release was contingent on her employees issuing the licenses on her behalf while obliterating her signature from the form. Later, the state legislature passed a law removing all county clerks’ names from state marriage licenses.
Davis, a Republican, was defeated in her reelection campaign in 2018.
Davis maintained that she was immune from getting sued for damages by gay couples David Moore and David Ermold, as well as Will Smith and James Yates, using a legal theory known as qualified immunity. In October 2020, the United States Supreme Court upheld a ruling that permitted the lawsuit to proceed while declining to hear the case.
The law company representing Davis, Liberty Counsel, suggested the case might go back to the Supreme Court.
The firm cited Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’s remarks on the 2020 judgment, which he authored for Justice Samuel Alito and himself.
While Thomas concurred with the judgment not to review the Davis case in 2020 on the immunity grounds, he said that it served as a “stark reminder” of the court’s 2015 ruling in the same-sex marriage suit.
Those with truly held religious convictions about marriage will find it extremely difficult to engage in society without coming afoul of the decision and “its effect on other antidiscrimination laws,” he said, as a result of the ruling.
According to Mat Staver, chairman, and founder of Liberty Counsel, Kim Davis is entitled to safeguard and accommodation predicated on her genuine religious belief.
Image via Reuters
