Kim Davis' Lawyer Says “We Are a Few Months Away” From Overturning Marriage Equality
Mat Staver, of the evangelical law firm Liberty Counsel, most famous for representing Kentucky magistrate Kim Davis, has predicted marriage equality will be overturned thanks to President Trump.
While celebrating the confirmation of Kyle Duncan to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, who represented Hobby Lobby before the Supreme Court in its case objecting to the Affordable Care Act's contraceptive mandate, Staver told VCY America radio host Jim Schneider that Trump was able to "reshape the landscape of the entire federal judiciary, including the Supreme Court."
He praised Trump for nominating what he called "constitutionalists, originalists, dedicated to the original understanding and interpretation of the Constitution and the statutes," whereas he believes former Republican presidents have been "hit or miss" in their nominations.
He encouraged conservative voters to cast their ballots during the midterm elections to keep Republicans in control of the House and Senate. Staver particularly stressed the importance of holding onto the Senate, so Republicans would be able to get far-right Supreme Court justices through the nomination process.
Otherwise, he warned, the president will be forced to nominate "somebody who’s palatable to the judicial activist crowd in the Senate.”
If Trump could stack the court further “with someone like Gorsuch," Staver said it would mean "the abortion decision, the same-sex marriage decision, all of those things that went the wrong way will ultimately be in the balance to be reversed. So literally we are a few months away.”
He said there would be one, or possibly two, vacancies to fill, with Justice Anthony Kennedy expected to announce his retirement in the not too distant future. Although Staver did not name her, he is likely referring to the 85-year-old Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg when speaking of a potential second vacancy, although she has hired staff through 2020, signaling a desire to stay on through Trump's first term.