Federal judge orders Kentucky county clerk to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples

FRANKFORT, Ky. – A county clerk in Kentucky will not immediately issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, her lawyer says, despite a federal judge ordering her to do so Wednesday in a case that seeks to reconcile the country’s new marriage law and its protections of religious freedom.

Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis was one of a handful of local elected officials across the country that stopped issuing all marriage licenses after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in June. Two gay couples and two straight couples sued her in federal court in the first lawsuit of its kind in the country.

County clerks issue marriage licenses in Kentucky, but someone else must “solemnize” the marriage before the license can be filed with the county clerk. Davis argued that issuing a marriage license to a same-sex couple that contains her signature is the same as her approving the marriage, which she said violates her Christian beliefs. But U.S. District Judge David Bunning rejected that argument, saying Davis has likely violated the U.S. Constitution’s ban on the government establishing a religion by “openly adopting a policy that promotes her own religious convictions at the expenses of others.”

“Davis remains free to practice her Apostolic Christian beliefs. She may continue to attend church twice a week, participate in Bible Study and minister to female inmates at the Rowan County Jail. She is even free to believe that marriage is a union between one man and one woman, as many Americans do,” Bunning wrote. “However, her religious convictions cannot excuse her from performing the duties that she took an oath to perform as Rowan County Clerk.”

Despite the court’s ruling, Davis’ attorney, Roger Gannam, said Davis does not intend to issue any licenses until “we’ve exhausted all of our options to protect her rights.” Gannam filed his notice of appeal about an hour after Bunning’s order.

“This lawsuit has never been about them getting married; they could have done that any time,” he said, suggesting the couples could have gone to the next county and applied for a license there. “This lawsuit is about forcing Kim Davis to violate her religious liberty.”

Laura Landenwich, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said the 28-page ruling reveals that the judge painstakingly combed through each of Davis’ legal arguments and rejected each one.

If Davis continues to refuse, and the Court of Appeals declines to issue a stay, Landenwich said they could seek to have her held in contempt of court, which can come with hefty fines or even jail time.

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Galofaro reported from Louisville, Kentucky.