From Reuters:
“Kentucky clerk who refused
same-sex marriage licenses can be sued”
In a 3-0 decision, the 6th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati said Kim Davis can be sued in her
individual capacity, though sovereign immunity shielded her from being sued in
her former role as Rowan County Clerk. Davis
claimed that Obergefell v Hodges, the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court decision
recognizing a constitutional right to same-sex marriage, did not apply to her
because she stopped issuing licenses to everyone regardless of sexual
orientation, and the plaintiffs could have obtained licenses elsewhere. But the appeals court called the Supreme Court
decision “as sweeping as it was unequivocal,” and said the respective couples -
David Ermold and David Moore, and Will Smith and James Yates - could try to
show that Davis acted unreasonably. “In
short, plaintiffs pleaded a violation of their right to marry: a right the
Supreme Court clearly established in Obergefell,” Circuit Judge Richard Griffin
wrote. “The district court therefore correctly denied qualified immunity to
Davis.” The decision upheld rulings by
U.S. District Judge David Bunning in Covington, Kentucky and returned the
lawsuits to him. Both couples are now married. Davis lost her reelection bid as Rowan County
clerk last year. She is now retired, according to Mat Staver, the founder of
Liberty Counsel, which represented her. “At
the end of the day, she will ultimately prevail. She had no hostility to
anyone, given that she stopped issuing all marriage licenses,” Staver said in
an interview. “The broader issue is what
accommodation a court should provide someone based on their religious beliefs,”
he added. “It’s a matter of time before such a case goes squarely before the
Supreme Court.” Michael Gartland, a
lawyer for Ermold and Moore, said his clients may ask the full 6th Circuit to
review the sovereign immunity issue. “No matter what happens, we’re going to
trial against Ms. Davis in her individual capacity,” he said. Kash Stilz, a lawyer for Smith and Yates, said
his clients were pleased their lawsuit can continue. The appeals court also upheld a separate
attorney fee award to other couples who were denied marriage licenses by Davis.
Both decisions came two hours after
another federal appeals court said two Minnesota videographers, Angel and Carl
Larsen, could sue the state for requiring them to film same-sex weddings though
it violated their Christian beliefs. The
immunity cases are Ermold et al v Davis et al, 6th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals, Nos. 17-6119 and 17-6233; and Smith et al v Davis et al in the same
court, No. 17-6120 and 17-6226.
^ This former clerk should be
sued. When the Supreme Court made Gay Marriage legal throughout the whole
country she refused to issue marriage licenses to gay couples first. She openly
discriminated against the couples because they were gay and in doing so she
openly broke the law. She only stopped issuing marriage licenses to all couples
later on. I really hope she gets sued and is used as an example of what public
officials should not do. ^
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.