By Aryan Marshall
Given the culture war brouhaha surrounding Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who has refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, it’s no wonder there are people itching to write her checks. For some, the Apostolic Christian is something of a martyr, sacrificing her personal freedoms to take a stand against same-sex marriage. After a federal judge Thursday held Davis in contempt of court and sent her to jail, that perception has only grown.
But Davis supporters are going to have a hard time raising money online.
That’s because the popular crowdfunding site GoFundMe has a specific policy against supporting those facing charges of discrimination.
Here’s the policy, added to the website in April of this year:
GoFundMe will not allow campaigns that benefit individuals or groups facing formal charges or claims of serious violations of the law.
The amendedment can be found under the ‘What’s Not Allowed’ section of our terms, as well as below:
Campaigns in defense of formal charges or claims of heinous crimes, violent, hateful, sexual or discriminatory acts
That’s you, Kim! And it appears that GoFundMe has stuck to its guns: As of writing, there are no fundraising campaigns for Davis on the site.
Davis’ huge and money-savvy network of supporters is part of the reason U.S. District Judge David Bunning decided to send the county clerk to jail. After Davis testified Thursday that the Liberty Counsel, a Christian public interest law firm, had already begun collecting money on her behalf, “Bunning rejected the possibility” of fining her instead, reports the Lexington Herald-Leader.
Of course, there’s still big money in the high-profile media circus, not least for the 2016 presidential nominees who have come out as Davis supporters. Republicans Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Bobby Jindal, Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee have gone on record as strong Davis advocates. You can bet her plight will become the focus of their own fundraising campaigns.
Meanwhile, those still to donate online can head to CrowdRise, where organizers are raising money for a Kim Davis Miracle Makeover. All proceeds will go to the LGBT stylists who will help the county clerk with her transformation—and should she refuse their help, to the Kentucky Equality Federation.
Minister Jordan Palmer, secretary-general of the Kentucky Equality Federation alliance stated:
We are all equal before the law, and we encourage Davis to do the right thing, embrace the standard of public service (as she swore an oath to do), and comply with Franklin County Circuit Court Judge Thomas D. Wingate’s ruling in Kentucky Equality Federation v. Commonwealth of Kentucky and the ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court.
She is being held in contempt of court because she refuses to resolve the job taxpayers elected her to perform and has broken her oath of office. She could easily resign and end the entire situation, but I suspect the national spotlight is truly the motivation.
The office of an elected official is a public trust, not a personal platform for refusing service to the “wrong” sort of people; this reeks of the oppression of far-off lands where officials can make discriminatory rules and enforce summary judgement against certain classes, genders, orientations, races, and castes.
Calls to Joshua Koch the president of the Kentucky Public Advocate Service a Kentucky Equality Federation member, was not immediately returned.
PADUCAH: http://isurfpaducah.com/2015/09/05/gay-couple-gets-marriage-license-in-kentucky-after-clerk/
GOOD MAGAZINE: http://magazine.good.is/articles/kim-davis-supporters-will-have-a-hard-time-raising-money-online
