Citing God's authority, clerk defies US top court on gay marriages

A Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples invoked "God's authority" on Tuesday in defiance of a US Supreme Court ruling. During a showdown that has lasted two months, Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis has cited her religious beliefs for her actions.

On Monday, the Supreme Court rejected Davis's request for an emergency order allowing her to deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples while she appeals a federal judge's order requiring her to issue them.

On Tuesday, when asked on whose authority she was refusing the licenses, she replied, "On God's authority," flouting the court that ruled in June that the US Constitution gives same-sex couples the right to marry.

The videotaped exchange between a couple seeking a license and Davis was posted on the Courier-Journal newspaper website. Eight people filed a federal lawsuit against Davis in July challenging her office's policy of not issuing marriage licenses to any couples - gay or straight.

The couples on Tuesday filed a motion asking US District Judge David Bunning to hold Davis in contempt of court, seeking fines but no jail time for the clerk. They also filed a motion asking the judge to clarify that Davis must issue licenses to everybody, not just the four couples in the case.

While issues related to gay marriage have arisen in courts in several states, the American Civil Liberties Union said the organization was unaware of any other US county clerk refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses. The ACLU is representing the four couples in the case.

"The vast majority of the country has been in compliance with the law without incidence. She's an outlier," ACLU national spokeswoman Allison Steinberg said of Davis. During a call with attorneys for both sides, Bunning ordered Davis and her deputies to appear in federal court in Ashland, Kentucky, on Thursday, said Joe Dunman, an attorney for one of the couples who had sued.

Last month, the judge said Davis had to live up to her responsibilities as county clerk despite her religious convictions. Dunman said Davis's office rejected a request on Tuesday for a marriage license from same-sex couple April Miller and Karen Ann Roberts, his clients.

Two other same-sex couples, Will Smith and James Yates, and David Ermold and David Moore, also were denied licenses on Tuesday. "We were denied again," Moore said in a text message. "We spoke with Kim again and it was a very heated exchange." Miller, who teaches at Morehead State University, said she and her partner were denied a license and they simply turned and left.

'GOD'S WORD'

Davis said in a statement that she will stand by her religious beliefs despite receiving death threats and calls for her resignation. "I never imagined a day like this would come," she said. "To issue a marriage license which conflicts with God's definition of marriage, with my name affixed to the certificate, would violate my conscience. It is not a light issue for me. It is a Heaven or Hell decision. For me it is a decision of obedience.

"I have no animosity toward anyone and harbor no ill will," she added. "To me this has never been a gay or lesbian issue. It is about marriage and God's Word. It is a matter of religious liberty." Davis said her office would continue to deny marriage licenses pending the appeal to the 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati.

Outside the office in Morehead, Kentucky, large crowds supporting both sides on the issue gathered and chanted slogans. Those supporting the rights of the same-sex couples chanted, "What do we want? Equality," said Chris Hartman, director of the Louisville-based Fairness Campaign. On the other side, backers of Davis included a person dressed as a Revolutionary War patriot.

Bunning previously issued a preliminary injunction requiring the clerk to issue marriage licenses, but stayed that pending her appeal to the appeals court, which then rejected her request for a permanent stay, saying she had little chance of prevailing.

A spokeswoman for Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway said on Monday that his office was reviewing a request for a special prosecutor to determine if Davis committed official misconduct. She said on Tuesday morning that a final decision had yet to be made. Official misconduct is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 365 days in jail, the spokeswoman said.