As Kim Davis globetrots against gay rights, Kentucky’s taxpayers are left on the hook for her summary refusal to obey the law.
A federal judge ruled Monday that Kentucky taxpayers are still on the hook for attorney fees for the couples who sued Kim Davis, a county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples after the historic U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage.
So: Davis enjoys downmarket celebrity for her bad behavior, and taxpayers will have to ante up the money to pay the judgment.
Davis’ behavior was incontestably unlawful; there never was a serious legal question about that. What is more, she was definite about her decision — a higher law forbade her to obey the temporal law.
Bah.
Can Kentucky sue her to recover the money? I understand that she probably doesn’t have that sort of money lying around, and that the state would be in the position of spending money to obtain a judgment it is unlikely to ever recover, but I think a judgment against her — even if unenforceable — would be a fitting coda to this squalid affair.