Lesbian Couple sue council $10K Over Calling Them An 'Abomination'
A West Virginia county clerk's office has agreed to pay $10,000 in damages to a lesbian couple who said they faced disparaging remarks while applying for a marriage license last year.
The incident prompted Amanda Abramovich and Samantha Brookover to sue Gilmer County Deputy Clerk Debbie Allen and Clerk Jean Butcher. According to the complaint, Allen called the couple an “abomination” and told them that God would “deal” with them while processing their application.
According to The Washington Post, Allen's comments against the women lasted several minutes and another clerk shouted that it was Allen's “religious right” to harass the couple. When Brookover's mother, who witnessed the abuse, called the county clerk's office to complain, she said that Butcher stood by her deputy and allegedly said that the next same-sex couple that sought a marriage license “would get the same or worse” treatment.
Allen has denied she called the couple an “abomination or any abuse at al.” “I felt I talked nicely to them,” she told the Charleston Gazette-Mail at time. "She denied having made any negative comments at all, but believes, these two women creatively made up a story, to sue to make money. It was a setup."
The lawsuit was filed by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Fairness West Virginia and the law firm Mayer Brown.
