A federal judge ordered that Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis be taken into custody on Thursday over her refusal to issue marriage licenses despite a court order.
Kentucky Public Radio’s Ryland Barton reports:
Federal judge has put Rowan co clerk in marshal custody until she complies with order to issue marriage licenses pic.twitter.com/zXK7ijkgb2
— Ryland Barton (@RylandKY) September 3, 2015
We’ll have more soon.
Davis has made national headlines this summer for her refusal to issue marriage licenses to any couples since the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in June. An Apostolic Christian, Davis has said issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples would violate her deeply held religious beliefs.
Soon after the Supreme Court’s ruling, four couples — two same-sex, two opposite-sex — represented by the ACLU of Kentucky filed a federal lawsuit against Davis. Last month, U.S. District Judge Davis Bunning gave Davis until Aug. 31 to begin issuing the documents.
Both an appeals court the U.S. Supreme Court denied her requests for a stay.
An Apostolic Christian, Davis this week said she viewed her stance as “Heaven or Hell decision.” Meanwhile, the controversy has led to protesters — by Davis’ critics and supporters — outside the county courthouse in Eastern Kentucky.
Two other county clerks in Kentucky are also stopped issuing marriage licensesafter the Supreme Court’s same-sex marriage ruling in June.