Kentucky clerk who fought gay marriage is released from jail

[webfact]

Kentucky clerk who fought gay marriage is released from jail
By ADAM BEAM

GRAYSON, Ky. (AP) — The Kentucky county clerk jailed for refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay couples was released Tuesday after five days behind bars, emerging to a tumultuous hero's welcome from thousands of supporters waving large white crosses.

"I just want to give God the glory. His people have rallied, and you are a strong people," Kim Davis told the crowd after stepping outside, her arms raised like a victorious boxer, to the blaring "Rocky"-sequel theme song "Eye of the Tiger."

Her lawyer refused to say whether she would defy the courts again.

"Kim cannot and will not violate her conscience," said Mat Staver, founder of the Liberty Counsel, the Christian law firm representing Davis. As for whether she will issue licenses, Staver said only: "You'll find out in the near future."

The Rowan County clerk whose defiance has made her a hero to the religious right walked free after the federal judge who ordered her locked up lifted the contempt ruling against her, saying he was satisfied that her deputies were fulfilling their obligation to grant licenses to same-sex couples in her absence.

But U.S. District Judge David Bunning also warned Davis not to interfere again, or else she could wind up back in jail.

Davis, 49, has refused to resign her $80,000-a-year job. As an elected official, she can lose her post only if she is defeated for re-election or is impeached by the state General Assembly. The latter is unlikely, given the legislature's conservative slant.

As the surprise news of her impending release spread, a crowd of dozens of supporters who had gathered on the jailhouse lawn for a previously scheduled rally swelled to thousands. They broke into "Amazing Grace" and "God Bless America" and waved signs, flags and crosses.

Cries of thanks to Jesus echoed through the crowd as Davis emerged next to Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee and her husband, Joe, who was in overalls and a straw hat. Huckabee and fellow GOP White House candidate Sen. Ted Cruz visited her at the jail just after the decision came down.

"If somebody has to go to jail, I'm willing to go in her place," said Huckabee, a former Baptist minister and Arkansas governor. "She has shown more courage than any politician I know."

Natalie Ferguson, who came to the rally from Elora, Tennessee, said: "We have to stand because if we sit back and be quiet, you know then as a Christian community we're going to get run over."

Davis was locked up on Thursday for the boldest act of resistance by a public official yet to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June that effectively legalized same-sex marriage across the nation. Citing "God's authority" and her belief that gay marriage is a sin, Davis, an Apostolic Christian, stopped issuing all marriage licenses.

Two gay couples and two heterosexual ones sued her. Bunning ordered Davis to issue the licenses, and the Supreme Court backed him. But she still refused and was held in contempt of court and hauled off to jail in handcuffs, igniting protests from religious conservatives. They rallied for days at her office, at the jail and outside the judge's home.

The timing of her release after just five days came as something of a surprise. Last week, Bunning said that he might reconsider his decision to jail her in a week.

Five of Davis' six deputy clerks — all except her son, Nathan — agreed to issue licenses to gay couples with Davis behind bars. In lifting the contempt order, Bunning asked for updates on the clerks' compliance every two weeks.

On Tuesday, Staver, Davis' lawyer, maintained that the licenses issued by her deputies are invalid. But the Kentucky attorney general's office said it believes otherwise.

Dan Canon, an attorney for the couples who sued, said they will ask the judge to again hold Davis in contempt if she returns to work and blocks her deputies from dispensing licenses.

"We are hoping she is going to comply with it. We'll have to see," Canon said. "But if experience is a teacher, Ms. Davis just doesn't believe that court orders apply to her."

Davis' dispute has offered some of the GOP presidential candidates an opportunity to appeal to the party's evangelical Christian wing, which opposes gay marriage and has cast her jailing as an issue of religious freedom.

On Monday, her lawyers took their case to a federal appeals court, asking that she be allowed to remove her name and title from marriage certificates issued in Rowan County so that she would not have to act against her conscience.

Gov. Steve Beshear, a Democrat like Davis, reiterated Tuesday that he will not call a special session of the legislature to overhaul the marriage-licensing process by taking it out of the hands of county officials and making it a state function.

"Hopefully we can move forward now. We need to be thinking about so many things about the future of Kentucky," he said.

Casey County Clerk Casey Davis, who recently bicycled more than 400 miles across Kentucky in solidarity with Kim Davis, called her jailing a "total injustice." He is not related to her.

He said he is not issuing any marriage licenses, and suspects the conflict could come to his county next. He said only one same-sex couple has inquired about a license in his county and was told there were no licenses being issued, and that's the last Davis heard from them.

He said he, too, would be willing to go to jail.


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-09-09

[DirtyDan]

Where does it stop?

[capcc76]

People on here think people jailed for 3 felonies or serious drug charges are improperly held but want to have some stupid arse Christian woman jailed because she won't issue a marriage license. Hello, there are some rocket scientist on here. Suppose that is why they end up in places like Thailand. Lol, I will be there soon with my hottie gf.

[puukao]

She just signed a book deal for 2987342893407238493027489324723 baht.

And in 11-years we find out she is gay.

[DirtyDan]

Puukao, you may be right there! Possibly why her relationships keep failing? She's had 4 marriages herself!

[daoyai]

That kooky hick "earns" 80k per anum? Listen to her lil speach with Mike Huckelberry next to her... religion always good for a laugh except when it makes you want to cry.

[godden]

Never had a problem with gays having civil partnerships, but knew when they wanted marriage it would open a can of worms.

[Pinot]

Never had a problem with gays having civil partnerships, but knew when they wanted marriage it would open a can of worms.

The can of worms being this numbskull not doing her job because she's homophobic? We have different definitions of what opening a can of worms is. This is just a fat broad reaching for the brass ring on the wingnutoshere merry-go-round. Cruz and Huckabee cement their unelectability by supporting fatso.

[MrBrad]

[arend]

There are few issues in life that are black or white. This is one. Can't or won't do the job, then quit or be fired. Since when do employees tell their bosses how they will do the job? Duh......

[chuckd]

There are few issues in life that are black or white. This is one. Can't or won't do the job, then quit or be fired. Since when do employees tell their bosses how they will do the job? Duh......

Since the first labor union was formed in the early 1900's.

[Seastallion]

Bunning has set himself up with this precedent of how he acts in cases of contempt of court. I'd like to see his reaction when a Muslim county employee refuses to obey a court order on the grounds that it is religiously unconscionable. Mind you, how many Kentucky Muslims are county or state employees?

[Scott]

Off-topic post and reply removed.

[Thakkar]

'Old Testament Judge Refuses To Marry Couples Who Have Eaten Pork, Shellfish

Judge Vance D. Day in Oregon has been refusing to marry same-sex couples; one of his colleagues has a response.

Meyers said that her Old Testament court will only last as long as Judge Day's "theocratic courtroom" does. She said that "as soon as Judge Day joins the 21st century, my court room will do join him" but that "until that day comes, I will pump every bride's stomach and check every groom's feces for pork remnants" because opponents of marriage equality are, in her words, "being even more intrusive" since "I just want to see what's coming out of your <deleted>; they want to see what's in."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/oregon-judge-gay-marriages_55e9e757e4b03784e275d182?utm_hp_ref=politics

T

*satire*

[Thakkar]

Bunning has set himself up with this precedent of how he acts in cases of contempt of court. I'd like to see his reaction when a Muslim county employee refuses to obey a court order on the grounds that it is religiously unconscionable. Mind you, how many Kentucky Muslims are county or state employees?

It's brilliant because any judge anywhere in America can point to this whenever a Muslim, or Jew or Hindu or whatever wrongly invokes their religion to defy the law and sanction them without being accused of "persecuting" a minority religious group. If they can jail a law-defying Christian, every law-defying religious fanatic is fair game. Freedom of religion doesn't mean freedom to impose your religion.

T

Edited September 9, 2015 by Thakkar

[FritsSikkink]

idiots

[DirtyDan]

FritsSikkink - Thank you, that made me literally LOL.

All joking aside, this nonsense is starting to spread like syphilis after a TV pool-party. Airline attendant refuses to serve alcohol due to religious beliefs:

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/09/05/travel/muslim-flight-attendant-feat/index.html

[chrisinth]

Puukao, you may be right there! Possibly why her relationships keep failing? She's had 4 marriages herself!

Judging books by covers, that's 4 lucky exs.

No matter how much it cost them financially.............................

[Srikcir]

Within a month Davis will be back in jail.

But maybe Huckleberry can join her.

[fitnesspm]

Discrimination against someone's religious beliefs. Why don't they just go get married somewhere else?

Religion was the only thing keeping families together in the west. Once you take away religion the only thing reminding is the corporate game hence why the west has gone to shit today and countries that keep the family values like Thailand are a whole lot better to live!

[nottocus]

Good news she's out.

[Thakkar]

That kooky hick "earns" 80k per anum? Listen to her lil speach with Mike Huckelberry next to her... religion always good for a laugh except when it makes you want to cry.

Yeah, she gets 80k per annum. In her defense, she needs the money to meet alimony payments to three former husbands!

T

[camble]

They used to burn witches.

[CMNightRider]

This Kentucky clerk should be applauded for her decision to refuse issuing same sex marriage licenses. Marriage is a covenant between a man and a woman which is by its nature ordered toward the procreation and education of children. Gay marriage defies nature not to mention promoting sodomy. This whole topic is ridiculous.

[FritsSikkink]

This Kentucky clerk should be applauded for her decision to refuse issuing same sex marriage licenses. Marriage is a covenant between a man and a woman which is by its nature ordered toward the procreation and education of children. Gay marriage defies nature not to mention promoting sodomy. This whole topic is ridiculous.

just crawled out of the dark ages?

[Scott]

This topic is about a clerk who is refusing to issue marriage licenses and has been jailed is now released. It is not about gay marriage, per se.

We are quite well aware that some members oppose gay marriage. That is a battle you have lost. This is not the thread for a re-enactment of it.

Please stay on topic.

[CWMcMurray]

FritsSikkink - Thank you, that made me literally LOL.

All joking aside, this nonsense is starting to spread like syphilis after a TV pool-party. Airline attendant refuses to serve alcohol due to religious beliefs:

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/09/05/travel/muslim-flight-attendant-feat/index.html

Although quite a bit different...

As she was making arrangements with her colleagues to serve the alcohol to the passengers

So no passengers are affected...

The equivalent would have been if she had dumped all the alcohol on the plane down the toilet and refused to let any of the flight attendants serve any alcohol to any of the passengers...

Because her religion prohibits alcohol consumption, it should mean no one on the plane should be allowed to consume alcohol

as the clerk did not just refuse to do... She also prevented others in her office from doing it as well...