Hood County clerk’s refusal to issue same-sex marriage license cost taxpayers $43,000

[TexasTowelie]

Hood County Bigot Clerk Katie Lang

It has been a month since Joe Stapleton and Jim Cato finally got the marriage license Hood County Clerk Katie Lang denied them because of her religious beliefs. It only took a federal lawsuit to get it.

Today, that suit was settled, and according to the attorneys representing Stapleton and Cato, Lang’s refusal to issue the license wound up costing Hood County $43,872.10 in attorney’s fees. They will not move to dismiss the suit.

“It is a shame that Hood County Clerk Katie Lang refused to follow the rule of law, causing our clients to go through the difficulties of hiring lawyers and filing a federal lawsuit to obtain the marriage license to which they are constitutionally entitled,” says attorney Pat O’Connell, one of Stapleton and Cato’s attorneys. “And it is sad that the taxpayers of Hood County have to pay the price for their elected official’s misconduct.”

According to Austin attorney Jan Soifer, who also represented the couple, the Hood County Commissioners agreed to settle the suit — “to save {Lang} from dealing with the additional expense and significant financial exposure her actions caused the taxpayers of her county.”

Read more: http://thescoopblog.dallasnews.com/2015/08/hood-county-clerks-refusal-to-issue-same-sex-marriage-license-cost-taxpayers-43000.html/

[peacebird]

1. garnish her wages to extract the payment. Taxpayers should not have to foot the bill for bigotry

[PoliticAverse]

2. Stupid waste of money in a case there was no way they were going to win...

since the Supreme Court decision.

[shenmue]

3. She could have just given them the license

and gone home to yell at the wall, like always.

[tanyev]

4. Got to love that fiscal conservatism.

[Gothmog]

5. The taxpayers have to pay for this lady's stupidity