A Kentucky County Clerk continues to refuse marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
The US Supreme Court will not support Kentucky County Clerk Kim Davis and has told her to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
The Rowan County Clerk stopped issuing marriage licenses to all couples in a protest against the Supreme Court’s ruling on June 26.
Four couples have sued Ms Davis for refusing to issue marriage licenses. Lawyers for the affected couples have filed a motion in a Federal District Court. They are requesting that the judge hold Davis in contempt of court and fine her for refusing to do her job.
Davis began defying the law by filing a suit in federal court that argued that she should be exempt from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples based on her religious beliefs.
After being ruled against in a District Court, the case was taken to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and then to the Supreme Court, all denying her request.
Daniel J. Canon, a lawyer for one of the same-sex couples, said “She’s certainly in contempt of court by any definition of the term, so the District Court has an array of sanctions it can resort to, to deal with that.”
Davis’s husband has stated that same-sex couples can travel to another county to get married when the local county clerk objects on a religious basis. Ms Davis defends her actions by saying that her Christian faith does not allow her to permanently put her name on a document endorsing the marriages of gay men and lesbians.
Tuesday saw protests from both sides of the argument outside the courthouse. One attendee said “We’re out here trying to support the love. Christianity supposedly supports love in all ways, so it seems kind of contradictory that they’re out here, I guess, discriminating.”
On Tuesday, two couples were refused their marriage licenses inside the offices on Tuesday. David Ermold and David Moore told Davis that they would not leave the office until a marriage license was issued. Davis responded by telling the couple “you’re going to have a long day.”
Officials have stated that Davis could possibly be charged officially with misconduct. This conviction would be a misdemeanour and could result in a court order removing her.
