Kentucky

Kim Davis is a name nearly every American who has followed the news since the same-sex marriage ruling in June has heard of. She is the county clerk from Kentucky who has been in a constant battle with the courts over her refusal to issue marriage licenses after the Supreme Court ruled same-sex marriage is now legal in all 50 states.

• The governor told her and other county clerks they needed to issue the licenses, and she refused.
• After being sued, she was told by a judge that she needed to issue the licenses, and she continued to refuse.
• Eventually, she was held in contempt of court and put in jail for five days.
• After her lawyer appealed the decision, she was told she could leave jail, but she couldn’t interfere with the issuing of same-sex marriage licenses.

For the last few weeks, things seemed to die down in her story. It seemed perhaps a solution had been reached: Davis didn’t have to have her name on the marriage certificates of same-sex couples, but she couldn’t keep same-sex couples from getting their marriage licenses in the county clerk’s office. Now, she is back in the news because she has appealed yet again the decision made by the court to require her to issue the marriage licenses. In yet another setback for her, the request for a stay has been refused.

Was Kim Davis Interfering?

Most people assumed when Davis was no longer in the news that she wasn’t interfering with the issuing of same-sex marriage licenses. Lawyers on behalf of couples suing Davis have said she has interfered by changing the content on the marriage licenses after she returned to work. However, Davis’ lawyer has said she has done what she can to stay out of their issuance.

Legality of Marriage Licenses

Davis has expressed she doesn’t think the marriage licenses being issued at the county clerk’s office are legal since they don’t have her name on them. Lawyers on behalf of the couples are trying to get Bunning, the judge who originally ruled Davis needed to issue the same-sex marriage licenses, to order Davis to issue the original licenses and not the ones she altered as well as reissue ones that were altered.

Why Hasn’t She Resigned?

Davis has said she doesn’t like being in the spotlight and she just wants to do her job. She can’t be fired from her job since she was elected to it, but she can resign. Other than the fact that she would lose her salary, why shouldn’t she just resign to make things easier for her? After all, then she wouldn’t be required to issue the marriage licenses she feels a religious contradiction to, and she would eventually fade out of the spotlight. Davis appeared on “The Kelly File” and explained she doesn’t want to lose her voice in the media and resigning from her position would do just that. She also said she enjoyed her job and was good at it. She has worked for the public for over 26 years and was elected to the position just last year.

Religious Beliefs

Davis is a born-again Christian, and she has felt issuing marriage licenses interferes with her religion. She still feels she is making the right decision despite the backlash and multiple orders to issue the licenses. Kelly asked her whether she felt she was portrayed as a heroine or a villain, and Davis responded with “it just depends on if you love God or not, which side I’m on.” It would appear we have not heard the last of the Kim Davis case, and it will be interesting to see whether or not she encounters more problems with the courts.