Remember the defiant county clerk Kim Davis who refused to issue
marriage licenses to gay couples? Well she went to jail yesterday,
Thursday, for her refusal, but five of her deputies agreed to issue the
licenses themselves, potentially ending the church-state standoff in
Rowan County, Kentucky.
U.S. District Judge David Bunning said he had no choice but to jail Kim
Davis for contempt after she insisted that her "conscience will not
allow" her to follow federal court rulings on gay marriage.
"God's moral law conflicts with my job duties," Davis told the judge
before she was taken away by a U.S. marshal. "You can't be separated
from something that's in your heart and in your soul."
Bunning offered to release Davis if she would promise not to interfere
with her employees issuing marriage licenses on Friday morning. But
Davis, through her attorneys, rejected that offer and chose to stay in
jail.
 |
| Kim Davis is led away from federal court on Thursday in handcuffs, with shackles around her feet and waist |
Gay and lesbian couples vowed to appear at the Rowan County clerk's
office for the fifth time on Friday to see if the deputy clerks would
keep their promises.
"We're going to the courthouse tomorrow to get our marriage license and
we're very excited about that," said April Miller, who has been engaged
to Karen Roberts for 11 years.
As word of Davis' jailing spread outside the federal courthouse,
hundreds of people chanted and screamed, "Love wins! Love wins!" while
Davis' supporters booed.
Davis' lawyer, Roger Gannam, said it was the first time in history an
American citizen has been jailed for believing that marriage is a union
between one man and one woman. He compared her willingness to accept
imprisonment to what Martin Luther King Jr. did to advance civil rights.
"Kim Davis represents the best of us and everyone should lament and
mourn the fact that her freedom has been taken away for what she
believes," Gannam said.
Laura Landenwich, an attorney for the plaintiffs, rejected the comparison.
"Ms. Davis is in an unfortunate situation of her own creation. She is
not a martyr. No one created a martyr today," Landenwich said, adding
"she holds the keys to her jail cell."
Speaking earlier from the bench, Bunning said it would set up a
"slippery slope" to allow an individual's ideas to supersede the courts'
authority.
"Her good faith belief is simply not a viable defense," Bunning said. "I
myself have genuinely held religious beliefs ... but I took an oath."
"Mrs. Davis took an oath," he added. "Oaths mean things."
Davis is represented by the Liberty Counsel, which advocates in court
for religious freedom. Before she was led away, Davis said the U.S.
Supreme Court ruling legalizing gay marriage nationwide conflicts with
the vows she made when she became a born-again Christian.
Many supporters and even some Republican presidential candidates have rallied behind her.
"People are calling the office all the time asking to send money," she testified. "I myself have not solicited any money."
Davis said she hopes the Legislature will change Kentucky laws to find
some way for her to keep her job while following her conscience. But
unless the governor convenes a costly special session, they won't meet
until January. "Hopefully our legislature will get something taken care
of," she told the judge.
Until then, the judge said, he has no alternative but to keep her behind
bars. Davis stood and thanked Bunning, pausing briefly to search the
crowded courtroom for familiar faces before she was led away.
Later photos showed Davis being escorted from the courthouse in what
appeared to be handcuffs with a towel draped over her hands. She was
taken to the Carter County Detention Center in a white, windowless van.
It's unclear exactly how long she'll remain in jail. Davis' attorneys
said the judge's order would keep her in jail indefinitely. But Bunning
indicated he would revisit his decision in a week, giving the deputy
clerks time to comply with his order.
"The legislative and executive branches do have the ability to make
changes," Bunning said earlier in the hearing. "It's not this court's
job to make changes. I don't write law."
Davis served as her mother's deputy in the clerk's office for 27 years
before she was elected as a Democrat to succeed her mother in November.
As an elected official, she can be removed only if the Legislature
impeaches her, which is unlikely in a deeply conservative state.