R&I – FS
Kim Davis — the former clerk in Kentucky whose refusal to sign marriage certificates for same-sex couples grabbed national headlines in 2015 — violated their constitutional rights, a federal judge found.
The decision leaves open the question of whether the former clerk is responsible for the legal fees of the two couples who sued and other monetary damages that have accrued over the nearly seven years of legal back-and-forth.
A jury will decide whether Davis is liable for those fees and other damages, which likely stands around hundreds of thousands of dollars.
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The legal battle started in 2015 when Davis, in her capacity of a county clerk, defied the Supreme Court’s ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges. It’s the landmark decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.
She said distributing marriage licenses to such couples went against her beliefs as a member of the Apostolic Church, arguing that she could not give them a marriage license “under God’s authority.”
Her refusal quickly drew support from social conservatives and anger from same-sex marriage advocates.
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Article URL : https://www.npr.org/2022/03/19/1087723875/kim-davis-court-same-sex-marriage