LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Kentucky clerk Kim Davis has obeyed an order to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in the months since she spent five nights in jail for refusing to do so, a federal judge said Tuesday.
U.S. District Judge David Bunning, an appointee of President George W. Bush, denied the American Civil Liberties Union's request to order Davis, the Rowan County clerk, to reissue licenses she had altered to remove her name and title. He found that Davis has allowed her deputies to issue licenses to anyone eligible since September and that the altered licenses are likely valid under Kentucky law.
After a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that effectively legalized gay marriage last summer, Davis -- an Apostolic Christian -- was one of a small number of local officials across the country who refused to grant licenses to any couples, straight or gay.
Area couples sued her, and Bunning ordered her to issue the licenses. After being ruled in contempt of court for continuing to refuse to issue the licenses, she spent five nights in jail. At the time, Bunning told her six deputy clerks that they, too, faced potential fines or jail time if they similarly refused. All but one -- the clerk's son, Nathan Davis -- agreed to issue the licenses.
Bunning then released Davis from jail with strict instructions not to interfere. Once she got out, she altered the marriage licenses, replacing her name with the phrase "pursuant to federal court order."
The ACLU, which sued Davis on behalf of four rejected couples, asked the judge to make her reissue the marriage licenses and order that she not interfere with her deputies who were willing to sign them.
In response to Davis' case, Matt Bevin, the state's new Republican governor, signed an executive order in December that removes clerks' names from marriage licenses.
On Tuesday, Bunning found that Davis has been complying with his order and that "there is every reason to believe that any altered licenses ... would be recognized under Kentucky law," rendering the ACLU's request "moot."
ACLU attorney Ria Tabacco Mar issued a statement after the ruling saying she was "heartened" that Bunning believes the altered licenses will be honored. But she said the question will have to be settled conclusively by Kentucky courts.
Davis' lawyer, Mat Staver, wrote that the judge's ruling rebuffed what he described as a personal vendetta against Davis.
"From the beginning, we have said the ACLU is not interested in marriage licenses. They want Kim Davis' scalp," Staver wrote. "They want to force her to violate her conscience. I am glad the court rejected this bully tactic."
A Section on 02/10/2016