Kentucky clerk remains behind bars after 5 days, appeals judge's order

Luke Skywalker · Sep 7, 2015

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[h=4]Kentucky clerk remains behind bars after 5 days, appeals judge's order[/h]Huckabee: Davis followed her conscience

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Attorneys for the Kentucky clerk who was jailed last week because of her refusal to issue marriage licenses to gay couples said Monday they have filed an emergency motion with a federal court that they hope will result in Kim Davis' freedom. USA TODAY

epa04911995 A Carter County Detention Center handout image released 03 September 2015 shows Rowan County Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis in a booking photo after being put in jail for contempt of court for refusing several court orders to start issuing marriage licenses in Rowan County, Kentucky, USA, 03 September 2015. The US Supreme Court ruled in June 2015 that gay couples had a constitutional right in the US to get married. EPA/CARTER COUNTY DETENTION CENTER(Photo: CARTER COUNTY DETENTION CENTER /, EPA)

As supporters of jailed Kentucky clerk Kim Davis prepared for a Tuesday rally featuring Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, Davis remained in jail, even as her attorneys spent the holiday weekend fighting a judge's order that sent her there.
Davis is the Kentucky county clerk who has refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. A new appeal, filed Monday with the federal appeals court in Cincinnati, came four days after the Rowan County clerk was held in contempt of court for defying a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that legalizes gay marriage. Davis cited her religious beliefs in her refusal to issue the licenses.
Davis' attorneys asked Kentucky Gov. Steven Beshear to accommodate her "religious conviction" and have her freed from jail.
"Today is a holiday where most people are spending time with family and friends," said attorney Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel. "But for Kim Davis this is day five of her incarceration. While she is content no matter her circumstances because of her deep faith and Jesus, she should be free."
Staver's motion asks for an exemption from the governor's mandate that all county clerks issue marriage licenses, even to same-sex couples. "Coercing Mrs. Davis to authorize and personally approve same-sex marriage in violation of her religious convictions and conscience is wrong," Staver said.
U.S. District Judge David Bunning had ordered Davis to issue marriage licenses, but she refused, saying she could not betray her conscience. Bunning sent Davis to jail on Thursday. Her deputy clerks then issued marriage licenses to same-sex*couples on Friday.
Davis herself has said she will not issue marriage licenses until the state legislature changes the law that requires*marriage licenses be issued under the authority of the elected county clerk. The legislature is not scheduled to meet again until January, and Beshear, a Democrat, has refused to call a special session.
Davis has also refused to resign her $80,000-a-year position. As an elected official, the only way she could lose her job is to lose an election or have the state legislature impeach her, which is unlikely, given the conservative nature of the state General Assembly.
After visiting Davis on Monday, Harry Mihet, another attorney representing her, said in a statement:*"She exudes gentleness and is at peace. Her spirits remain high. She was brought to tears when she heard that so many people outside the jail and around the country are praying for her.”
Davis' plight has reignited the gay marriage debate and the limits of religious freedom. Her imprisonment has inspired spirited protests from both sides in this small eastern Kentucky community, known mostly as the home to Morehead State University.
On Saturday, about 300 people rallied in support of Davis at the Carter County Detention Center, where she is being held.
Huckabee, appearing Monday on Fox & Friends,*said the purpose of Tuesday's rally "is to show support for Kim and also to let the world know that it is unacceptable to put a person in jail without bail because she followed her conscience," Politico reported. "And not only that, but she followed the only law that is in front of her."
Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor, said the Supreme Court could not prescribe specific implementations of its decision earlier this summer to permit same-sex marriage nationwide.
He also said that Davis' imprisonment is ironic, considering that Judge Bunning, the son of a former Kentucky senator and baseball Hall of Famer Jim Bunning, is a Republican. He was appointed to the bench by President George W. Bush in 2002.
The issue has divided the GOP presidential field. Ohio Gov.*John Kasich,*whose state*Department of Health lost the Supreme Court case in June that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, said*Davis should issue same-sex marriage licenses despite her religious beliefs.
Kasich, who opposes same-sex marriage,*told ABC's This Week on Sunday, "She's not running a church. I wouldn't force this on a church, but in terms of her responsibility, I think she has to comply."
Battles over same-sex marriage, he said, could turn young people away from Christianity.
"When we see these kind of battles going on, I get a little bit afraid that it turns people off to the idea of faith in God," he said. "I think we need to talk a lot about the do's, about humility, about helping our neighbor, about the need to live a life bigger than ourselves."
Contributing: The Associated Press
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Kentucky clerk remains behind bars after 5 days, appeals judge's order

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