The problem with the Kim Davis media circus (in which we have participated, admittedly) is that it encourages other anti-LGBT attention seekers to air their terrible opinions. Tired of taking a back seat on the Davis Train, a pair of old friends are back in the news.
From Raw Story:
Aaron and Melissa Klein, the bakers who have been made heroes by the anti-gay movement, were fined $135,000 in July as settlement for damages. After refusing to sell a lesbian couple a wedding cake, the Kleins started harassing them in the media, including posting their address on Facebook.
Though they have raised $500,000 from crowdfunding sources, the couple seems to be ignoring court orders to pay.
According to emails between the prosecutor and the Kleins’ attorney obtained by Williamette Week, as of September 16, the Kleins have yet to pay up, even though the final judgment against them was rendered July 27... The email from Gaddis states if payment isn’t rendered, the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries will “docket” the payment, meaning the agency will be in a position to place liens on the Kleins’ property, Williamette Week explains.
Instead of just paying the fine and getting back to business, the Kleins seem prepared to take their "Christian persecution" complex to its extreme, deliberately risking their property and livelihood to make a point. In the short term, this might pay off for them. Though crowdfunding in the traditional sense is now off-limits, the Kleins very recently appeared at this year's Value Voters Summit and probably expect to make bank off of speaking engagements and Ted Cruz endorsements. But without the Kim Davis-level infamy, this sort of illusory fame is fleeting and national attention will drift away. It will only be a matter of time before the Kleins look back on what they lost and wish they had paid what they owed.