The day after she was released from jail, Kentucky clerk Kim Davis announced she would stay home from work until Monday, leaving unanswered whether she'll comply with a court order to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Davis's attorneys with the Christian law firm Liberty Counsel released a statement saying that she will spend the next several days resting with family and combing through the hundreds of letters she received during her five-day stint in jail.
Davis was held in contempt and jailed for defying a series of court orders and continuing to refuse to issue marriage licenses. In her absence, a deputy clerk began issuing them. The judge let her out Tuesday, with strict orders not to intervene. Davis' attorneys would not say whether she intends to comply.
Conway: No Special Prosecutor
Kentucky's attorney general says that for now, he will not appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the claim that Rowan County clerk Kim Davis committed a crime when she refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
One couple who was denied a license asked Rowan County Attorney Cecil Watkins to investigate a charge of official misconduct, a misdemeanor in Kentucky applicable to public officials who neglect their duties. Watkins, citing a conflict of interest, passed the complaint along to the attorney general, who could then choose whether to appoint a special prosecutor.
But Attorney General Jack Conway, also the democratic nominee for governor, released a one-sentence statement on Wednesday, noting that Davis' actions are being monitored by U.S. District Court Judge David Bunning, who sent Davis to jail for five days for defying court orders to issue the licenses.
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Conway's statement reads: "Judge Bunning and the federal court have control of this matter, and therefore a special state prosecutor is not necessary at this time."
Attorney: Kim Davis Won’t Issue Marriage Licenses
The attorney representing Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis says she will not issue marriage licenses now that she is out of the Carter County Jail.
“She’s not getting out because she violated her conscience,” Mat Staver, of Liberty Counsel, said. “Her conscience remains clear today as it was when she first walked into these jail cells, and it will remain clear in the future.”
It wasn’t immediately clear whether she would attempt to block her deputy clerks from issuing the licenses. A federal judge said she could not interfere with the process as a condition of her release.
As she exited the jail Tuesday, Davis got a rock star welcome from a crowd of thousands of evangelicals, who cheered as she walked onstage to the song “Eye of the Tiger.” Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee had already planned the rally, before Davis was unexpectedly released after spending five days in jail. Presidential candidate Ted Cruz was also at the rally, as was Republican candidate for governor Matt Bevin.
“Just keep on pressing, don’t let down. Because he is here,” a tearful Davis told the crowd, referring to God.
After the Supreme Court effectively legalized same-sex marriage in June, Davis, an Apostolic Christian, cited her religious beliefs and stopped issuing licenses, which county clerks in Kentucky are required to sign.
Federal Judge David Bunning ordered her to resume and found her in contempt late last week, after she refused. She is being sued by four couples — two same-sex, two straight — over her refusal to issue licenses.
The case will continue in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, where Davis’ attorneys have filed several appeals of Bunning’s decisions. The judge will also hear the merits of the case in federal district court in the coming months.
Meanwhile, Davis and other supporters are urging the state legislature to consider bills that would exempt county clerks from the marriage license process.
Rowan County Deputy Clerk Says He Will Issue Licenses
A deputy county clerk in Rowan County says that even if his boss tells him to stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, he will tell her he can't obey her and will instead follow a judge's order.
Brian Mason works for Rowan County clerk Kim Davis, who was jailed for five days over her refusal to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Davis was released Tuesday. A federal judge warned her not to interfere with licensing; deputy clerks have been issuing them in her absence. But Davis' lawyers have said she can't violate her conscience, and she's repeatedly cited her beliefs about homosexuality as an apostolic Christian. The attorneys wouldn't say exactly what she'll do when she returns to work Friday or Monday.
Mason said Wednesday that licenses would be granted to anyone seeking them. He told reporters that if Davis tells him to stop, he will tell her no. Mason says he would have to follow the judge's order to issue licenses.
