The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has designated the law firm representing Kim Davis as a hate group. Liberty Counsel responded by calling the move irresponsible and reckless.
The SPLC claims it made the designation based on Liberty’s repeated incidents of defending Davis by using dishonesty, rumors and manipulated information regarding members of the LGBT community. Matt Staver, who acts as a personal attorney to Davis, stated in August that gay marriage is the equivalent of child sodomy and that it promotes pornography. Staver has also said that gay people are no better than terrorists, and all homosexuality should be banned.
A director and minister at Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Barry Lynn, said it appears Libery Counsel and Staver are more concerned with seeking publicity than winning the case for Davis, and being considered a hate group will not help the cause.
Davis took the media by storm earlier in 2015 with her staunch refusal to issue marriage licenses to gay couples. She spent five days in jail on a contempt charge and was released after promising to allow her deputy clerks to issue the licenses. Since that time, Davis has been the subject of many Internet memes and a Saturday Night Live skit. She also had a brief meeting with Pope Francis.