ASHLAND, KY -- Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis, represented by Liberty Counsel, filed new Motions to Dismiss this week in the 2015 marriage license lawsuits Ermold v. Davis and Yates v. Davis, which seek to punish Davis financially for refusing to violate her deeply held religious convictions. The two cases were dismissed a year ago but were reinstated following an appeal.
In the original 2015 marriage license case, Miller v. Davis, Kim Davis spent six days in jail for refusing to violate her conscience by issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples under her name and authority. As a result, Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin signed an executive order creating a new marriage license form removing county clerks' name and authority, and the Kentucky General Assembly unanimously made Governor Bevin's protections permanent for Davis and her fellow county clerks.
The plaintiffs in the Ermold and Yates cases received marriage licenses in 2015 while Kim Davis was in jail. Not content with their licenses or Davis' sacrifice, the plaintiffs now want to punish Davis financially and to force an "all or nothing" choice between same-sex "marriage" and religious liberty, without regard for any reasonable accommodation.
"The Ermold and Yates plaintiffs simply cannot be satisfied with the marriage licenses they received while Kim Davis was in jail," said Roger Gannam, Liberty Counsel's Assistant Vice President of Legal Affairs. "The Commonwealth of Kentucky has moved on, and the plaintiffs' renewed attempts to seek money and attention should be dismissed so that Kim Davis can move on with serving the people of Rowan County," said Gannam.
Liberty Counsel is an international nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics.
