Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk whose refusal to issue marriage licences to same-sex couples sparked widespread controversy in 2015, is now facing accusations of trying to evade a federal court ruling that ordered her to pay substantial penalties. This legal saga comes in the wake of a federal jury’s earlier decision which ruled that she violated the civil rights of David Ermold and David Moore when she refused their request for a marriage licence.
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In 2023, the jury awarded David Ermold and David Moore $50,000 each in damages, plus their legal fees, ultimately bringing the amount owed by Davis to roughly £565,000. Despite this ruling, Davis, who has cited her Christian beliefs as the basis for her actions, has reportedly not made any payments towards this debt.
The events surrounding Davis began in September 2015 when, as the Rowan County clerk, she denied issuing marriage licences to same-sex couples following the Supreme Court’s decision that legalised same-sex marriage in the United States. Her actions drew public support from several Republican presidential candidates at the time, because she positioned herself as a defender of religious freedom.
Recently, Davis’s legal team faced scrutiny for her claims about her financial status. On July 28, David Ermold and David Moore’s attorneys filed a motion in federal court arguing that she had lied about possessing no property. They allege that she transferred hundreds of thousands of pounds’ worth of assets to her relatives shortly before making her claim of financial hardship. This has prompted calls for the court to hold her in contempt.
Attorney Michael J. Gartland, representing Ermold and Moore, explained that they attempted to resolve discrepancies regarding Davis’s financial disclosures through communication with her legal team. However, their attempts to negotiate a settlement met with obstruction, as her attorneys responded that they had not been given the authority to agree to any proposed resolutions.
Davis is represented by the Liberty Counsel, an organisation known for its anti-LGBTQ stance, which has been labeled as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The group continues to advocate for the repeal of Obergefell v. Hodges, the landmark Supreme Court ruling that legalised same-sex marriage.
In response to the allegations against Davis, Mathew D. Staver, founder of the Liberty Counsel and one of her attorneys, has stated that Davis has been forthcoming with her financial information. He claimed that the property she inherited from her mother, which has become a point of contention, was always intended for her children and that the assertions made by Ermold and Moore’s legal team are unfounded.
Davis’s actions in 2015, which included her temporary imprisonment for contempt of court after she refused to comply with a federal order to issue marriage licences, garnered support from high-profile figures such as former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and Senator Ted Cruz, who positioned her as a champion of religious conviction.
However, her prominence in the political arena appears to have diminished since her re-election defeat in 2018. The recent developments in her legal battles highlight the ongoing tension between religious beliefs and LGBTQ rights within the United States. After unsuccessfully appealing the jury’s decision to the Supreme Court last year, it remains to be seen how Davis will navigate her enduring legal challenges and financial obligations in the aftermath of her initial refusal to issue marriage licences nearly a decade ago.