Christofascism in Court: Kim Davis, Liberty Counsel, and Why You Need to Wake Up
Kim Davis is not a hero. She is a former Rowan County, Kentucky clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples after the Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that marriage equality is protected under the 14th Amendment. She went to jail for defying a federal court order and has since turned that defiance into a crusade with the backing of Liberty Counsel, a Florida based Christian legal organization.
At the top of Liberty Counsel are Mathew D. Staver, founder and chairman, and Anita L. Staver, president and general counsel. They have built a career out of pushing a Christofascist ideology that elevates their religious beliefs above the Constitution. Liberty Counsel has fought against LGBTQ rights, defended conversion therapy, and opposed hate crime laws. Their mission is not to protect the freedom of worship, but to impose their theology on everyone else through the courts.
This latest case is not just about Kim Davis. It is about a coordinated strategy to weaken and ultimately overturn Obergefell. They are testing the legal system to see how much ground they can take before the public notices. If they succeed in carving out religious exemptions for government officials to deny marriage licenses, they will have created a precedent that chips away at marriage equality until it is meaningless in practice.
I hear people tell me they do not agree with what Davis and Liberty Counsel are doing. They say it is wrong, but then they go about their day. They do not write letters, make phone calls, or show up at rallies. They sit in silence, sad and angry, but unwilling to act. That is exactly what these groups count on. They know that apathy is their greatest weapon.
If you are one of those people, you need to wake up. This is not a drill. This is about whether we live under the rule of law or the rule of religious zealots. If they succeed, the precedent will not stop at same sex marriage. Interracial marriage, access to contraception, reproductive rights, and even basic public services could be targeted next
Faith in its personal form can be a source of comfort. But when it is wielded by people like Kim Davis and the leadership of Liberty Counsel, it becomes a weapon of subjugation. They are not protecting religion. They are using it as a shield while they dismantle civil rights.
You cannot just hope someone else will fix this. You cannot scroll past the headlines and think you have done your part. You need to act. Contact organizations that defend civil rights. Support lawsuits that protect equality. Share the truth about what is happening. Do not give Liberty Counsel and Kim Davis the silence they are banking on.
The rights of every American are not up for negotiation in someone else’s church.
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