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[h=4]Ky. clerk Kim Davis won't block licenses, but won't issue them[/h]Kim Davis was held in contempt for refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses.
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Kentucky clerk Kim Davis returned to work Monday but said she won't authorize any marriage licenses that her deputy clerks issue.
Video provided by Newsy Newslook
Surrounded by Rowan County (Ky.) Sheriff's deputies, Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis, center, with her son Nathan Davis standing by her side, makes a statement at the front door of the Rowan County Judicial Center in Morehead, Ky., on Monday, Sept. 14, 2015. Davis announced that her office will issue marriage licenses under order of a federal judge, but will not have her name or office listed.(Photo: Timothy D. Easley, AP)
MOREHEAD, Ky. — Kim Davis, the embattled Kentucky county clerk, at the center of the dispute over gay marriage and religious liberty,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>appeared<span style="color: Red;">*</span>to back down from the threat of more jail time Monday, saying while she still refuses to authorize marriage licenses, she will not interfere with a deputy clerk who began providing them more than a week ago.
Davis returned to work Monday, her first time in the office since her high-profile release from the Carter County Detention Center last week. Emotional and flanked by her son, Nathan, Davis read a statement outside the courthouse, bemoaning that her deputy clerks have been caught in the middle of her case.
"If any of them feels that they must issue an unauthorized license to avoid being thrown in jail, I understand their tough choice and I will take no action against them," she said. "However, any unauthorized license they issue will not have my name, my title or my authority on it. Instead, the license will state that they are issued pursuant to a federal court order."
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Davis said she faced a choice between her conscience and freedom, and prayed hard about her decision. She raised "great doubts" that licenses issued without her authority are valid but called it a remedy to reconcile her conscience with the federal injunction ordering her to provide the forms.
"I don't want to have this conflict. I don't want to be in the spotlight. And I certainly don't want to be a whipping post," she said. "I am no hero. I'm just a person who has been transformed by the grace of God."
Deputy Rowan County (Ky.) Clerk Brian Mason said Monday, Sept. 14, 2015, that he will continue issuing marriage licenses.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Tim Webb, The (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal)
Davis reiterated her plea for Kentucky<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Gov. Steve Beshear and legislators to rewrite state marriage laws to accommodate her religious objections. She argued that millions of others in the public and private sector face similar conflicts.
"Are we not big enough, a loving enough and a tolerant enough state to find a way to accommodate my deeply<span style="color: Red;">*</span>held religious convictions," she asked.
At least one deputy clerk, Brian Mason, has been issuing licenses since U.S. District Judge David Bunning jailed Davis for contempt of court. Mason said last week that he will continue to provide the forms even if Davis orders him to stop. Around 10 couples — mostly same-sex — have obtained the paperwork so far.
Bunning released Davis from jail on Tuesday, warning her not to interfere with any deputy who has issued licenses in her absence. Deputy clerks also were called on to file regular status updates with the court.
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Mary Hargis, from the Rowan County Rights Coalition, which protested Davis' policy for weeks, said the case was due to bigotry and that to equate Davis with civil rights icons — as many have sought to do — is a "travesty."
"When she willfully decided that she was going to disobey the law, she became a criminal. For whatever reason, all criminals have an excuse for their actions."
Ante Pavkovic, a pastor from North Carolina who has protested same-sex marriage outside the courthouse for about two weeks, appeared conflicted over the announcement Monday. He said Davis' attorney is probably trying to protect her but not addressing the larger issues of principle. He said it's hard to know whether<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Davis backed down without talking with her first.
"On appearances, it is not enough," he said. "It's yielding our republic to a rogue Supreme Court ...<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and that's a big mistake if that's what it is."
Timeline of dissent
Soon after the Supreme Court ruled to allow gays to marry, Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis decided to stop offering any marriage licenses through her office.
•<span style="color: Red;">*</span>June 26. Supreme Court rules 5-4 that states must recognize and allow same-sex marriage. Later that Friday,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear directs county clerks to comply.
•<span style="color: Red;">*</span>June 29. Davis declines to issue marriage licenses on Monday, saying the new law of the land conflicts with her religious beliefs.
•<span style="color: Red;">*</span>July 2. American Civil Liberties Union sues Davis and Rowan County on behalf of four couples, two gay and two straight.
•<span style="color: Red;">*</span>July 8. Some county clerks ask for a special session of the Kentucky Legislature to pass a bill to accommodate those who have religious reasons for not issuing the licenses. Beshear says no, in part because of the expense.
•<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Aug. 12. U.S. District Judge David Bunning says Davis must issue licenses to same-sex couples.
•<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Aug. 27. The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals declines to grant Davis a stay of Bunning's decision.
•<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Sept. 1. The Supreme Court refuses to grant Davis a stay.
•<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Sept. 3. Davis is found in contempt of court and taken to jail.
•<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Sept. 8. Davis is released from jail.
Contributing: Chris Kenning, The (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal; Doug Stanglin and<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Trisha Thadani, USA TODAY.
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