Davis has stated that issuing the licenses was a violation of her religious beliefs

Many assumed that with the end of 2015, we had heard all there was to hear about Kim Davis. After all, the new Kentucky governor almost immediately signed an executive order, removing the county clerk’s names from all wedding certificates. This was meant to protect their religious freedom, since many of them did not want their names affiliated with same-sex marriage licenses. However, Kim Davis is back in court, trying to once again argue that her religious freedom was violated when a judge ordered her to issue marriage licenses.

County Clerk Office Shutdown

When the Supreme Court originally made its ruling back in June 2015 legalizing same-sex marriage in all 50 states, Davis, the county clerk for Kentucky’s Rowan County, immediately stopped issuing marriage licenses to anyone who came for one. Couples were turned away and told to go to a neighboring county. This applied to both homosexual and heterosexual couples. Eventually, Davis was sued, and a judge ordered her to begin issuing marriage licenses again. Her refusal landed her five days in jail for defying a court order. Once she got out, she was told she was not to interfere with other county clerks as they issued marriage licenses. The office resumed issuing the licenses again; however, they were altered to not include the county clerk’s name.

Kim Davis Back in Court

Mat Staver, the attorney who is acting on Davis’ behalf, is saying that Davis has been a victim in this situation. He points out that the situation could have easily been remedied if the former governor, Steve Beshear, had issued a statement that accommodated her. This accommodation could have been something as easy as removing the county clerks’ names off of the wedding licenses, but Beshear did not want to get involved. While his successor, Matthew Bevin, did so just a couple weeks after taking office, it was something that should have been done sooner, according to Davis and her lawyers.

Bunning Was Wrong

Davis and her attorneys also feel that the Federal District Court Judge David Bunning made a mistake when he ordered Davis to begin issuing the licenses again. From the beginning, Davis has stated that issuing the licenses was a violation of her religious beliefs. Davis is a Christian, and it is her opinion that gay marriage is a sin.

Davis Back in Jail?

Davis spent five days in jail when she was held in contempt of court. This happened after she defied Judge Bunning’s order to issue marriage licenses. Her lawyers expressed concern that she could be sent to jail again, simply for altering the licenses to not have the county clerk’s name on them. When she was released from jail, she was told not to interfere with licenses being issued. One could argue that changing the marriage licenses was interfering, and it’s something that could land her in jail once again.

6^th Circuit Court

This isn’t the first time Davis has appealed to this court, but it is the first time she has had a court date. The court heard her case, so now we just have to wait on it to make a decision. There is no telling how long it will take for the court to make its ruling. There are a couple of things that are depending on this decision, however.

• It is expected that Judge Bunning will wait on the decision by the 6^th Circuit Court before deciding whether or not Davis should be held in contempt of court yet again for altering the marriage licenses.

• Governor Bevin is hoping Judge Bunning will dismiss the defiance, as his executive order makes it no longer required for the county clerk’s name to be on the marriage certificate.

It will be interesting to see how the courts rule, as they have not ruled in Davis’ favor once since this whole mess started.