Dateline Ashland, Ky — Faced with the threat of jail, five deputies of Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis told a federal judge this morning that they will comply with his order to issue marriage licenses starting Friday morning.
The only holdout was deputy clerk Nathan Davis, son of Kim Davis.
Earlier today, U.S. District Judge David Bunning ordered Kim Davis jailed after finding her in contempt of court for ignoring his order to issue marriage licenses.
Judge Bunning initially ordered Ms. Davis to remain in jail until she agrees to comply with his Aug. 12 order, but he later held another hearing to see whether she would agree to allow her deputies to issue licenses in exchange for being released.
However, attorneys for Ms. Davis said that she would rather stay in jail than cooperate.
An Apostolic Christian, Ms. Davis has refused to give anyone a marriage license since the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage June 26, citing her religious objections. A half-dozen local couples are suing her.
Ms. Davis was tearful while testifying about her religious faith during the hearing but was stoic as she was led from the courtroom.
Outside, cheers erupted as news of Judge Bunning’s decision reached dozens of marriage equality protesters.
Judge Bunning told Ms. Davis he has his own religious beliefs as a Catholic, but public officials must respect the law.
“In this country, we live in a society of laws,” he said. “Our system of justice requires citizens — and significantly, elected officials — to follow the rules of the courts.”
Plaintiffs in the case had asked Judge Bunning to fine Ms. Davis, but they specifically requested that he not jail her. Judge Bunning, though, said fines would not work because others might raise money to pay the penalty on her behalf.
Ms. Davis, 49, began a four-year term as county clerk on Jan. 5. Only the Kentucky General Assembly is authorized to remove her from office before her term expires.
The Kentucky Constitution authorizes the legislature to impeach, try and remove from office “the governor and all civil officers,” including Ms. Davis, typically in cases involving abuse of the public trust. But this would be an unlikely outcome for Ms. Davis, given the legislature’s conservative leanings.
Ms. Davis succeeded her mother, Jean W. Bailey, who was Rowan County clerk for nearly 40 years until she retired. Ms. Davis was one of her mother’s deputy clerks for much of that time, just as her 21-year-old son, Nathan, now works as one of her deputies.
Judge Bunning is a son of former U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., and previously was a federal prosecutor. He was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky by President George W. Bush in 2002.
Lawyers for Ms. Davis stated in a brief filed late Wednesday that she has broad political support in Kentucky.
“Leading Kentucky legislators from both parties in both houses uniformly agree that the legislature needs to address the entire marriage scheme in light of (the Supreme Court decision), but also agree that Davis’s religious beliefs should be, and can be, accommodated,” wrote Jonathan Christman, one of Ms. Davis’s attorneys. “Both gubernatorial candidates in Kentucky have indicated an intent to support county clerks’ individual rights.”
Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, also filed a brief in the case late Wednesday asking Judge Bunning to “delay, withhold or temper his ruling in this case until the General Assembly has an opportunity to establish new frameworks under Kentucky law.”
Possible legislative responses to the clerks’ protest have been discussed, including removing clerks’ names from marriage license paperwork to make them feel less personally involved, or transferring the authority to issue marriage licenses to a state agency. However, lawmakers are not scheduled to convene until January.
Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2015/09/03/4018514_federal-judge-jails-rowan-county.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy
