In late January, Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin’s attorneys filed legal documents arguing that the state should not have to pay nearly $225,000 in legal fees that accrued during former Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis’ court battle over her refusal to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Americans United warned government officials years ago to keep Kim Davis at arm’s length. Far from being a hero, she’s just a plain old lawbreaker, an extremist who decided that her religion gave her the right to use a taxpayer-funded position to deny others rights that were affirmed by the highest court in the land.

If the anti-lynching bill fails to include LGBTQ people, members of that community who are victims of these grotesque crimes and their families and friends who are seeking justice will be denied the powerful protection and resources that only the federal government can wield.