The left-leaning fundraising site GoFundMe has declined to accept a fundraising campaign for jailed Rowan County, Kentucky, clerk Kim Davis.
Davis was jailed on Thursday for defying a federal court order to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges in June. She was ordered detained for contempt of court and later rejected a proposal to allow her deputies to process same-sex marriage licenses that could have prompted her release. She has become the symbol of religious opposition to the heavy-handed tactics of the “gaystapo” who are ramming same-sex marriage through at the federal level across the nation in opposition of religious conservatives.
U.S. News and World Report noted, “In sending her to jail, U.S. District Judge David Bunning ignored the American Civil Liberties Union’s request that Davis be fined to compel compliance with orders that she issue marriage licenses. ACLU attorney Heather Weaver, who is working on the case, said there was testimony about fundraising efforts on Davis’ behalf, apparently a factor in the judge’s decision not to impose financial penalties.”
Davis will remain incarcerated until she agrees to resume issuing licenses, including those for same-sex marriage.
Supporters attempted to initiate a GoFundMe campaign for her defense, but were thwarted by the site’s Terms and Conditions, which were updated on April 29 to specify the site can choose not to allow “campaigns in defense of formal charges or claims of heinous crimes, violent, hateful, sexual or discriminatory acts.”
These terms were updated in response to the massive support behind the bakery Sweet Cakes By Melissa, which declined to bake a wedding cake for a lesbian couple and were slapped with a $135,000 fine. A GoFundMe fundraiser raised over $109,000 within a few hours in support of the family before being abruptly shut down, possibly in response to the complaints of a competing bakery.
GoFundMe has developed a reputation for punitively denying fundraising efforts for causes it deems contrary to its progressive agenda. As one website put it, “GoFundMe bans Christians from trying to help other Christians.”
In a statement regarding their decision to close the Sweet Cakes account, GoFundMe wrote: “After careful review by our team, we have found the ‘Support Sweet Cakes By Melissa’ campaign to be in violation of our Terms and Conditions. The money raised thus far will still be made available for withdrawal. While a different campaign was recently permitted for a pizzeria in Indiana, no laws were violated and the campaign remained live. However, the subjects of the ‘Support Sweet Cakes By Melissa’ campaign have been formally charged by local authorities and found to be in violation of Oregon state law concerning discriminatory acts. Accordingly, the campaign has been disabled.”
However, a fast search through GoFundMe confirms the fundraising site has many requests for financial assistance from those facing legal actions, including criminal convictions. These include criminal trespassing and obstructing official business; possession of psychedelics; and prescription forgery (convicted of a third degree felony).
Most disturbingly, there is a GoFundMe campaign for aggravated sexual assault on a child (resulting in a 99-year prison sentence).
On Saturday, hundreds of people rallied in Grayson in support of Davis.
Related stories:
Kentucky clerk ‘has no intention to resign’
“Same-sex marriage started with lawbreaking”
“Deputies issue ‘same-sex marriage’ license”
“Huckabee: ‘FreeKimDavisNow.com'”
