ACLU Files Motion To Hold Kentucky Clerk In Contempt

Kim Davis is the Rowan County, Kentucky clerk (an elected position) who refuses to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples because she says doing so offends her religious beliefs.  On August 12, 2015, a federal court granted certain plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction ordering Davis to comply with the law of the land and issue licenses to such couples.  She continues to argue that she has the right to flout the law because of her religious beliefs.

Yesterday, the ACLU, which represents the plaintiffs, filed a motion to hold Davis in contempt for failing to comply with the federal court injunction.  Although the plaintiffs could ask the court to put Davis in jail until she agrees to comply with the law, they are only asking the court to impose financial penalties “sufficiently serious and increasingly onerous to compel Davis’ immediate compliance without further delay.”

I anticipate the court will grant the contempt motion.  We’ll have to wait and see whether the financial penalties are meaningful.