Invoking God’s authority, a Kentucky County clerk on Tuesday defied the US Supreme Court and stood by her refusal to issue marriage licenses to gay couples.
Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis has refused to issue marriage licenses to any couples since the court in June said that homosexuals had the right to marry.
On Monday, the same court rejected Davis’ request for an emergency order allowing her to deny marriage licenses to homosexual couples while she appeals a federal judge’s order requiring her to issue them.
Photo: Reuters
Amid calls for her resignation, death threats and an order that she appear in federal court today, Davis clung to her beliefs.
“I have no animosity toward anyone and harbor no ill will,” she said in a statement. “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.”
“It is not a light issue for me. It is a heaven-or-hell decision,” she said.
Outside the building in Morehead, Kentucky, that houses the clerk’s office, large crowds supporting both sides gathered.
Backers of Davis included a person dressed as a US Revolutionary War patriot.
“These couples, they torment her [Davis] because of her beliefs,” said Penny Stinnett of nearby Mount Sterling.
Eight people filed a federal lawsuit against Davis in July challenging her office’s policy of not issuing marriage licenses.
On Tuesday, the people filed a motion asking District Judge David Bunning to hold Davis in contempt of court.
During a call with attorneys for both sides, Bunning ordered Davis and her deputies to appear in federal court in Ashland, Kentucky, today, 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.
The videotaped exchange between a couple seeking a license and Davis was posted on the Courier-Journal newspaper’s Web site.
In the video, David Ermold and David Moore ask Davis under whose authority she was denying them a marriage license.
“Under God’s authority,” Davis replies.
“To issue a marriage license which conflicts with God’s definition of marriage, with my name affixed to the certificate, would violate my conscience,” she said.
Additional reporting by NY Times News Service
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