Kentucky clerk cites “God’s authority,” continues to refuse marriage licenses

Kim Davis is the Rowan County, KY clerk who has refused to issue marriage licenses to any couples since June, when the Supreme Court made same-gender marriages legal throughout the United States. Davis made the stand to avoid issuing licenses to same-sex couples.

Last night, she was running out of legal options to defy the order to begin issuing licenses to all eligible couples, as the Supreme Court declined to take up her case.

But today, Davis continued her refusal to comply with the order. According to the Guardian,

One of the couples who attempted to apply for a license on Tuesday confronted Davis inside the office.

“Under whose authority are you not issuing marriage licenses today?” he asked.

“Under God’s authority,” Davis said.

She then returned to her office, with the doors and blinds closed, and issued a statement refusing to resign:

“To issue a marriage license which conflicts with God’s definition of marriage, with my name affixed to the certificate, would violate my conscience. It is not a light issue for me. It is a Heaven or Hell decision,” her statement said.

Davis has been summoned to appear before a federal judge on Thursday morning “to explain why she should not be jailed for contempt,” the Guardian reports.

Vox.com offers this helpful timeline of the case.

Photo via http://rowancountyclerk.com/

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