Kim Davis Standing Ground as Gay Couples Get Licenses, As same-sex couples began receiving marriage licenses here for the first time on Friday, the county clerk who was jailed for refusing to issue licenses was prepared to remain in jail until the issue is resolved in a way that does not conflict with her religious beliefs, her husband and her lawyer said.
“Here’s two things I know: She’s not going to resign and she’s not going to violate her conscience,” said Mathew D. Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, the conservative legal group representing Kim Davis, the Rowan County clerk. “So however long that lasts, in terms of the consequences, she is prepared to accept them.”Defenders of Ms. Davis, and some politicians, called for changes in state law to resolve the standoff. Mr. Staver said, for example, that Ms. Davis would agree to record licenses issued by the clerk’s office, rather than in the name of the clerk, herself. Matt Bevin, the Republican candidate for governor, proposed a license form that couples could obtain online, without a county clerk’s involvement.But the prospects for such changes were unclear; Gov. Steven L. Beshear has said he does not want to call a special legislative session, so the matter may not be addressed until next year. In the meantime, Ms. Davis, a 49-year-old Democrat, has become national symbol of religious opposition to gay marriage.
Five employees of her office have agreed to issue licenses without her, a temporary compromise approved Thursday by a federal judge.
On Friday morning, emotions ran high shortly after the county courthouse opened as the first couple passed through throngs of demonstrators on both sides of the issue. Supporters of Ms. Davis yelled Bible passages and held up signs, including one briefly held up by Ms. Davis’s husband, Joe Davis, that read, “Welcome to Sodom and Gomorrah,” while supporters of gay marriage yelled “Love won.”With clasped hands and tight smiles, James Yates, 41, and William Smith, 33, made their way through a dense thicket of reporters and photographers and stood before an employee of the clerk’s office to request a license — a routine clerical act turned into a national spectacle.
Mr. Smith said he and Mr. Yates, who live here in this small Appalachian city, had tried to obtain a license several times, but were denied each time. They spoke softly as they conducted their business with Deputy Clerk Brian Mason, their voices barely audible in the din.
“And you’re not related, right?” Mr. Mason asked.
“Correct,” one of the men said.
Papers were passed. There was a ring of a cash register and change given.
“Congratulations,” the county official said, shaking hands with one of the men.
Then the couple hugged, tightly, bringing a close to one of the most dramatic moments since a decision by the Supreme Court in June established a constitutional right to same-sex marriage.
The men exited the building to a roar of jeers and cheers, and said they wanted to go celebrate with their family members. Mr. Smith said he felt “elated,” adding, “I think it shows that equality is everywhere.”
He and Mr. Yates could have gone to another county for a license, but “this is where we live,” Mr. Smith said. “This is where we pay taxes. This is our home.”
By midday, two more same-sex couples had obtained licenses, and two other couples had arrived at the courthouse to do so.April Miller and Karen Roberts, on their fourth attempt, obtained a license to marry just before noon.
“We got it,” Ms. Miller said, holding the paper over her head. “Now we can breathe.”
The fight for marriage was about civil rights, she said, adding, “This is one small step for people all over the country who have differences.” Ms. Miller said that while Ms. Davis had the right to embrace the religion of her choice, as a government officer, she should put the law first.
She and Ms. Roberts said they were elated but now wanted to get on with their lives, starting with a private wedding.
After the Supreme Court ruling, Ms. Davis was one of a small number of local officials around the country who refused to grant licenses to any couples, straight or gay. Local couples sued her, and Judge David L. Bunning, of Federal District Court, ordered her to issue them.Ms. Davis asked first the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, and then the Supreme Court, to delay his order from taking effect while she appealed. Both higher courts refused, but Ms. Davis continued to defy the judge’s order. On Thursday, Judge Bunning found her in contempt of court, and ordered her to jail.
“The court cannot condone the willful disobedience of its lawfully issued order,” the judge said. “If you give people the opportunity to choose which orders they follow, that’s what potentially causes problems.”
Mr. Davis said Friday that his wife planned to remain in the Clark County jail “as long as it takes,” adding that he did not think that the marriage licenses the workers in the clerk’s office issued today, without the signature of the clerk, herself, would be legally valid. Ms. Davis refused to agree to the compromise measure approved by the judge, of allowing her deputies to grant licenses without her involvement; had she done so, she could have been released.
“She has done her job,” Mr. Davis. “Just because five Supreme Court judges make a ruling, it’s not a law.”
When asked if he viewed her as a “martyr,” Mr. Davis said: “No, I view her as my wife. I love her. I’d do her time for her.”
Judge Bunning’s decision to jail Ms. Davis went beyond the wishes of the couples who sued the clerk; their lawyers had asked that she be fined. Some advocates for gay rights quickly expressed concern that Ms. Davis’s jailing would make her a sympathetic figure to religious conservatives and prompt lawmakers in Kentucky and elsewhere to push for new laws carving out exemptions for public officials who oppose same-sex marriage.
Ms. Davis, an apostolic Christian, was first elected county clerk last year, after many years working in the office. She is one of three of Kentucky’s 120 county clerks who contend that their religious beliefs prevent them from recognizing same-sex marriages. Within hours of Ms. Davis’s imprisonment, some Republican presidential candidates declared their support for her, a sign that her case was becoming an increasingly charged cause for Christian conservatives.
“Marriage is between one man and one woman,” she said during a frequently tearful turn on the witness stand on Thursday. When Roger Gannam, one of her lawyers, asked whether she approved of same-sex marriage, she replied, “It’s not of God.”
Mr. Staver and other lawyers for his group, which is based in Orlando, Fla., were on their way Friday morning to visit Ms. Davis in jail, he said, and to talk about their next legal steps. But he conceded that their options are limited.
“There is not much you can do,” he said. “It’s a frustrating situation. The only way she can be free is to violate her conscience, but then she would not be free as an individual. She is not going to imprison her conscience to be physically free.
He added, “I never thought I would be seeing her in jail.”
Mr. Staver called on either Judge Bunning or Governor Beshear to take action to remove Ms. Davis’ name from marriage licenses. But the governor has shown little inclination to act; on Twitter, he wrote on Thursday, “Deputy clerks have agreed to issue marriage licenses tmrw & citizens will now have access to all the services to which they are entitled.”
Mr. Davis, 49, who is self-employed, said that he had tried to hold his tongue in recent days, but that he was now intent on speaking out. He said his “heart dropped” on Thursday when he heard that Judge Bunning had ordered her jailed. He said he was somewhat worried for his wife’s health. He said she suffered from asthma and required an inhaler treatment twice a day. But he said that she had called him from jail and that she had said she was doing fine.Mr. Davis called Judge Bunning a “bully”and said he was “no different than a bully in high school, or out here on the street.”
Despite the issuing of the licenses on Friday, the deep chasm over the issue remained. Standing in front of the courthouse was Mike Reynolds, an Army veteran who said that while gay-rights advocates might have won the battle, opponents would win the war.
Mr. Reynolds, 36, had a patch on his leather vest for his service in Afghanistan, as well as a Confederate flag patch. His ball cap proclaimed his love for Jesus.
He said that the Rapture would soon be upon everyone, and that gay people would be banished to hell “if they don’t repent of their ways before the end.”
Later, other protesters began chanting “Free Kim.”
Reaction from national gay rights supporters to the marriage license being issued here was swift.
“Today, the needless wait for loving and committed couples in Rowan County, Kentucky, has finally ended,” the legal director for the Human Rights Campaign, Sarah Warbelow, said in a statement. “Denied a constitutionally protected right to marriage by a public official who thought her religious opinion placed her above the law, these couples waited far too long for marriage equality in the place they call home. Justice, equality, and the law have finally prevailed.”
“Here’s two things I know: She’s not going to resign and she’s not going to violate her conscience,” said Mathew D. Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, the conservative legal group representing Kim Davis, the Rowan County clerk. “So however long that lasts, in terms of the consequences, she is prepared to accept them.”Defenders of Ms. Davis, and some politicians, called for changes in state law to resolve the standoff. Mr. Staver said, for example, that Ms. Davis would agree to record licenses issued by the clerk’s office, rather than in the name of the clerk, herself. Matt Bevin, the Republican candidate for governor, proposed a license form that couples could obtain online, without a county clerk’s involvement.But the prospects for such changes were unclear; Gov. Steven L. Beshear has said he does not want to call a special legislative session, so the matter may not be addressed until next year. In the meantime, Ms. Davis, a 49-year-old Democrat, has become national symbol of religious opposition to gay marriage.
Five employees of her office have agreed to issue licenses without her, a temporary compromise approved Thursday by a federal judge.
On Friday morning, emotions ran high shortly after the county courthouse opened as the first couple passed through throngs of demonstrators on both sides of the issue. Supporters of Ms. Davis yelled Bible passages and held up signs, including one briefly held up by Ms. Davis’s husband, Joe Davis, that read, “Welcome to Sodom and Gomorrah,” while supporters of gay marriage yelled “Love won.”With clasped hands and tight smiles, James Yates, 41, and William Smith, 33, made their way through a dense thicket of reporters and photographers and stood before an employee of the clerk’s office to request a license — a routine clerical act turned into a national spectacle.
Mr. Smith said he and Mr. Yates, who live here in this small Appalachian city, had tried to obtain a license several times, but were denied each time. They spoke softly as they conducted their business with Deputy Clerk Brian Mason, their voices barely audible in the din.
“And you’re not related, right?” Mr. Mason asked.
“Correct,” one of the men said.
Papers were passed. There was a ring of a cash register and change given.
“Congratulations,” the county official said, shaking hands with one of the men.
Then the couple hugged, tightly, bringing a close to one of the most dramatic moments since a decision by the Supreme Court in June established a constitutional right to same-sex marriage.
The men exited the building to a roar of jeers and cheers, and said they wanted to go celebrate with their family members. Mr. Smith said he felt “elated,” adding, “I think it shows that equality is everywhere.”
He and Mr. Yates could have gone to another county for a license, but “this is where we live,” Mr. Smith said. “This is where we pay taxes. This is our home.”
By midday, two more same-sex couples had obtained licenses, and two other couples had arrived at the courthouse to do so.April Miller and Karen Roberts, on their fourth attempt, obtained a license to marry just before noon.
“We got it,” Ms. Miller said, holding the paper over her head. “Now we can breathe.”
The fight for marriage was about civil rights, she said, adding, “This is one small step for people all over the country who have differences.” Ms. Miller said that while Ms. Davis had the right to embrace the religion of her choice, as a government officer, she should put the law first.
She and Ms. Roberts said they were elated but now wanted to get on with their lives, starting with a private wedding.
After the Supreme Court ruling, Ms. Davis was one of a small number of local officials around the country who refused to grant licenses to any couples, straight or gay. Local couples sued her, and Judge David L. Bunning, of Federal District Court, ordered her to issue them.Ms. Davis asked first the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, and then the Supreme Court, to delay his order from taking effect while she appealed. Both higher courts refused, but Ms. Davis continued to defy the judge’s order. On Thursday, Judge Bunning found her in contempt of court, and ordered her to jail.
“The court cannot condone the willful disobedience of its lawfully issued order,” the judge said. “If you give people the opportunity to choose which orders they follow, that’s what potentially causes problems.”
Mr. Davis said Friday that his wife planned to remain in the Clark County jail “as long as it takes,” adding that he did not think that the marriage licenses the workers in the clerk’s office issued today, without the signature of the clerk, herself, would be legally valid. Ms. Davis refused to agree to the compromise measure approved by the judge, of allowing her deputies to grant licenses without her involvement; had she done so, she could have been released.
“She has done her job,” Mr. Davis. “Just because five Supreme Court judges make a ruling, it’s not a law.”
When asked if he viewed her as a “martyr,” Mr. Davis said: “No, I view her as my wife. I love her. I’d do her time for her.”
Judge Bunning’s decision to jail Ms. Davis went beyond the wishes of the couples who sued the clerk; their lawyers had asked that she be fined. Some advocates for gay rights quickly expressed concern that Ms. Davis’s jailing would make her a sympathetic figure to religious conservatives and prompt lawmakers in Kentucky and elsewhere to push for new laws carving out exemptions for public officials who oppose same-sex marriage.
Ms. Davis, an apostolic Christian, was first elected county clerk last year, after many years working in the office. She is one of three of Kentucky’s 120 county clerks who contend that their religious beliefs prevent them from recognizing same-sex marriages. Within hours of Ms. Davis’s imprisonment, some Republican presidential candidates declared their support for her, a sign that her case was becoming an increasingly charged cause for Christian conservatives.
“Marriage is between one man and one woman,” she said during a frequently tearful turn on the witness stand on Thursday. When Roger Gannam, one of her lawyers, asked whether she approved of same-sex marriage, she replied, “It’s not of God.”
Mr. Staver and other lawyers for his group, which is based in Orlando, Fla., were on their way Friday morning to visit Ms. Davis in jail, he said, and to talk about their next legal steps. But he conceded that their options are limited.
“There is not much you can do,” he said. “It’s a frustrating situation. The only way she can be free is to violate her conscience, but then she would not be free as an individual. She is not going to imprison her conscience to be physically free.
He added, “I never thought I would be seeing her in jail.”
Mr. Staver called on either Judge Bunning or Governor Beshear to take action to remove Ms. Davis’ name from marriage licenses. But the governor has shown little inclination to act; on Twitter, he wrote on Thursday, “Deputy clerks have agreed to issue marriage licenses tmrw & citizens will now have access to all the services to which they are entitled.”
Mr. Davis, 49, who is self-employed, said that he had tried to hold his tongue in recent days, but that he was now intent on speaking out. He said his “heart dropped” on Thursday when he heard that Judge Bunning had ordered her jailed. He said he was somewhat worried for his wife’s health. He said she suffered from asthma and required an inhaler treatment twice a day. But he said that she had called him from jail and that she had said she was doing fine.Mr. Davis called Judge Bunning a “bully”and said he was “no different than a bully in high school, or out here on the street.”
Despite the issuing of the licenses on Friday, the deep chasm over the issue remained. Standing in front of the courthouse was Mike Reynolds, an Army veteran who said that while gay-rights advocates might have won the battle, opponents would win the war.
Mr. Reynolds, 36, had a patch on his leather vest for his service in Afghanistan, as well as a Confederate flag patch. His ball cap proclaimed his love for Jesus.
He said that the Rapture would soon be upon everyone, and that gay people would be banished to hell “if they don’t repent of their ways before the end.”
Later, other protesters began chanting “Free Kim.”
Reaction from national gay rights supporters to the marriage license being issued here was swift.
“Today, the needless wait for loving and committed couples in Rowan County, Kentucky, has finally ended,” the legal director for the Human Rights Campaign, Sarah Warbelow, said in a statement. “Denied a constitutionally protected right to marriage by a public official who thought her religious opinion placed her above the law, these couples waited far too long for marriage equality in the place they call home. Justice, equality, and the law have finally prevailed.”
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