Kim Davis, Gay Marriage Latest News: Kentucky clerk back to work, ordered not to interfere with marriage license issuance
Kentucky clerk Kim Davis has returned to work and was ordered not to interfere in any way with the issuance of marriage licenses to all eligible couples.
The Kentucky clerk was jailed on Sept. 3 after she refused to issue marriage licenses to gay couples. On Monday, Kim Davis resumed her work as a clerk at Rowan County but was ordered to not prevent deputies from releasing marriage licenses, according to The Guardian.
Davis became the subject of a nationwide controversy after she reportedly defied a federal court order to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Her legal representatives have not yet confirmed whether or not she would follow her new orders, the report relays.
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Attorney Mat Staver said the Kentucky clerk "cannot and will not" go against what her conscience dictates. On June 26, the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage, but Davis decided to stop issuing marriage licenses to all couples. When her decision led to a federal lawsuit, Davis later on ended up in jail.
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Kentucky spokesperson Amber Duke said she expects that Davis will not hinder her deputy clerks from performing their duties at the office.
"[Davis] has been ordered not to interfere with the deputy clerks that are issuing licenses to all couples that are legally eligible," The Guardian quotes Duke. "And that extends beyond the four couples that we're representing."
Upon her exit from the courthouse, the Kentucky clerk explained that she had to make the "seemingly impossible choice" of defying her conscience and letting go of her freedom. Although she did not hinder her deputy clerk from performing their duties, she expressed her concern that the licenses would become invalid without her approval, the Boston Herald reports.
Since Davis was jailed on Sept. 8, deputy clerk Brian Mason has released a dozen licenses. Eight out of the 12 licenses were issued to same-sex couples.
Despite Kentucky's concern over the validity of the marriage licenses, the governor, attorney general, and county attorney confirmed that they are valid. Kim Davis, on the other hand, said she will not take any action against her deputies because she understood that they were just caught in the middle of the situation.
