A federal judge on Friday ordered
Kentucky to pay the legal fees of lawyers representing couples denied
marriage licenses by a county clerk.
Last year, the American Civil Liberties
Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit against Rowan County clerk Kim Davis in
an attempt to recover legal fees stemming from a lawsuit over her
refusal to allow her office to issue marriage licenses to same-sex
couples.
U.S. District Judge David Bunning ruled
that Davis herself was not liable and ordered the state to cover the
more than $224,700 in legal expenses associated with the lawsuit.
Davis became a Christian celebrity when
she refused to obey the Supreme Court's June 2015 ruling that found
that gay and lesbian couples have a constitutional right to marry.
She served five days in jail after she was declared in contempt of
court for ignoring a court order requiring her office to begin
issuing marriage licenses to all couples.
“It is unfortunate that Kentucky
taxpayers will likely bear the financial burden of the unlawful
actions and litigation strategies of an elected official,”ACLU of
Kentucky Legal Director William Sharp said in a statement.
During an appearance on Truths That
Transform, Davis said that she was “obeying [her] law.”
“I was obeying my law,” Davis
said. “I had couples bring in the whole Supreme Court ruling
and I said, 'You know, I really don't need to see this because that's
not a law, that's a ruling.' [And they'd say,] 'Well, why won't you
do this?' And so then I go to the Bible and I'd tell them, [and
they'd respond,] 'Don't be reading me the Bible.' Well, you asked why
I couldn't issue you a marriage license and I'm explaining to you.
I'm showing you why I cannot. They didn't want to hear that though.
They wanted to shove that paper down my throat and make me eat it for
my dinner.”