U.S.
Carter County Detention Center in Grayson
Several same sex couples walked out of a Kentucky courthouse with marriage licenses Friday morning, a day after the county's defiant clerk was jailed for refusing to license same-sex marriages, citing "God's authority."
William Smith Jr. and James Yates, a couple for nearly a decade, were the first to receive a marriage license in Rowan County after a months-long standoff.
County Clerk Kim Davis has refused to issue licenses since the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in June. Davis, an Apostolic Christian, turned away couples again and again, in defiance of a series of federal court orders.
But on Friday morning, she sat in a county jail, ordered there by U.S. District Judge David Bunning, who found her in contempt for refusing to follow his order that she issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
He offered to release Davis if she promised not to interfere with her employees issuing licenses, but she refused. She told the judge her mother-in-law pleaded with her to go to church from her deathbed four years ago. She did, converting to Christianity. She believes that gay marriage is a sin.
Speaking to reporters before the licenses were issued Friday, Davis' husband, Joe Davis, said his wife was in good spirits after her first night in jail.
Holding a sign reading "Welcome to Sodom and Gomorrah," Joe Davis said she would not resign from her position and would stay in jail as long as it takes.
In a statement released Friday, Liberty Counsel, the conservative Christian legal aid group that has been representing Davis, put the judge's decision in stark terms.
"Is this the kind of America we want, where good people are imprisoned because of their Judeo-Christian beliefs and values?" said Liberty Counsel's head Mat Staver.
"I do not think this is the America people want. Yesterday was a tragic day in America," the statement added.
On Thursday, after sending her to jail, Bunning threatened her six deputy clerks with the same fate if they followed her lead and refused to comply with his order. Five of them told him they would issue the licenses. The sixth clerk, Nathan Davis, Kim Davis' son, was the holdout.
At one point, Bunning looked at Nathan Davis and warned him not to interfere with his fellow employees on Friday. Bunning said he did not want "any shenanigans," like the staff closing the office for computer upgrades, as they did briefly last week.
"That would show a level of disrespect for the court's order," Bunning said. "I'm hoping that cooler heads will prevail."
Nathan Davis sat stoically as the judge questioned the clerks, some of whom were reluctant.
"I don't really want to, but I will comply with the law," Deputy Clerk Melissa Thompson said, weeping while she stood before the packed courtroom. "I'm a preacher's daughter, and this is the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life."
"I don't hate anybody," she added. "None of us do."
Bunning indicated Kim Davis would remain in jail at least a week, saying he would revisit his decision after the deputy clerks have had time to comply with his order.
Davis said she hopes the Legislature will change Kentucky laws to find some way for her to keep her job while following her conscience. But Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear again refused to call a special session of the Legislature on Thursday. State lawmakers are not scheduled to meet until January.
She wept during her testimony, telling Bunning that she was "always a good person" and that she gave her heart to the Lord in 2011 and "promised to love him with all my heart, mind and soul because I wanted to make heaven my home."
"God's moral law conflicts with my job duties," she said before she was taken away by a U.S. marshal. "You can't be separated from something that's in your heart and in your soul."
She stood and thanked Bunning after he ordered her to jail, pausing briefly to search the crowded courtroom for familiar faces before she was led away.
April Miller, one of the people who sued for a marriage license, said Thursday she was stunned by the judge's order. She said she and her fiancée, Karen Roberts, will get a license, "show that piece of paper off for a minute or two," then go home and try to resume a quiet life together, without court appearances and reporters calling at all hours.
"We look forward to [Friday] as a couple," she said. "It will be a very important day in our lives."
When Miller got her marriage license Friday, she shrieked "We got it!" as Roberts, her partner of 11 years, let out a joyous whoop.
Roberts says she doesn't want to be a hero, "just want to be a woman who got a marriage license today."
The Associated Press
William Smith Jr. and James Yates, a couple for nearly a decade, were the first to receive a marriage license in Rowan County after a months-long standoff.
County Clerk Kim Davis has refused to issue licenses since the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in June. Davis, an Apostolic Christian, turned away couples again and again, in defiance of a series of federal court orders.
But on Friday morning, she sat in a county jail, ordered there by U.S. District Judge David Bunning, who found her in contempt for refusing to follow his order that she issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
He offered to release Davis if she promised not to interfere with her employees issuing licenses, but she refused. She told the judge her mother-in-law pleaded with her to go to church from her deathbed four years ago. She did, converting to Christianity. She believes that gay marriage is a sin.
Speaking to reporters before the licenses were issued Friday, Davis' husband, Joe Davis, said his wife was in good spirits after her first night in jail.
Holding a sign reading "Welcome to Sodom and Gomorrah," Joe Davis said she would not resign from her position and would stay in jail as long as it takes.
In a statement released Friday, Liberty Counsel, the conservative Christian legal aid group that has been representing Davis, put the judge's decision in stark terms.
"Is this the kind of America we want, where good people are imprisoned because of their Judeo-Christian beliefs and values?" said Liberty Counsel's head Mat Staver.
"I do not think this is the America people want. Yesterday was a tragic day in America," the statement added.
On Thursday, after sending her to jail, Bunning threatened her six deputy clerks with the same fate if they followed her lead and refused to comply with his order. Five of them told him they would issue the licenses. The sixth clerk, Nathan Davis, Kim Davis' son, was the holdout.
At one point, Bunning looked at Nathan Davis and warned him not to interfere with his fellow employees on Friday. Bunning said he did not want "any shenanigans," like the staff closing the office for computer upgrades, as they did briefly last week.
"That would show a level of disrespect for the court's order," Bunning said. "I'm hoping that cooler heads will prevail."
Nathan Davis sat stoically as the judge questioned the clerks, some of whom were reluctant.
"I don't really want to, but I will comply with the law," Deputy Clerk Melissa Thompson said, weeping while she stood before the packed courtroom. "I'm a preacher's daughter, and this is the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life."
"I don't hate anybody," she added. "None of us do."
Bunning indicated Kim Davis would remain in jail at least a week, saying he would revisit his decision after the deputy clerks have had time to comply with his order.
Davis said she hopes the Legislature will change Kentucky laws to find some way for her to keep her job while following her conscience. But Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear again refused to call a special session of the Legislature on Thursday. State lawmakers are not scheduled to meet until January.
She wept during her testimony, telling Bunning that she was "always a good person" and that she gave her heart to the Lord in 2011 and "promised to love him with all my heart, mind and soul because I wanted to make heaven my home."
"God's moral law conflicts with my job duties," she said before she was taken away by a U.S. marshal. "You can't be separated from something that's in your heart and in your soul."
She stood and thanked Bunning after he ordered her to jail, pausing briefly to search the crowded courtroom for familiar faces before she was led away.
April Miller, one of the people who sued for a marriage license, said Thursday she was stunned by the judge's order. She said she and her fiancée, Karen Roberts, will get a license, "show that piece of paper off for a minute or two," then go home and try to resume a quiet life together, without court appearances and reporters calling at all hours.
"We look forward to [Friday] as a couple," she said. "It will be a very important day in our lives."
When Miller got her marriage license Friday, she shrieked "We got it!" as Roberts, her partner of 11 years, let out a joyous whoop.
Roberts says she doesn't want to be a hero, "just want to be a woman who got a marriage license today."
The Associated Press
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