KIm Davis is the head clerk for marriage in Rowan County, Kentucky, a postition which she was elected to, and her mother had held before her. A federal judge has jailed her, which she deserves, for not complying with the law. Kim Davis Jailed for Contempt in Kentucky Gay Marriage Dispute By ALAN BLINDERSEPT. 3, 2015 NY Times ASHLAND, Ky. -A federal judge here on Thursday ordered a Kentucky clerk jailed for contempt of court because of her refusal to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The clerk, Kim Davis of Rowan County, was jailed after a hearing before Judge David L. Bunning of Federal District Court. The contempt finding was another legal defeat for Ms. Davis, who has argued that she should not be forced to issue licenses that conflict with her religious beliefs. “The court cannot condone the willful disobedience of its lawfully issued order,†Judge Bunning said. “If you give people the opportunity to choose which orders they follow, that's what potentially causes problems.†Judge Bunning said Ms. Davis would be released once she agreed to comply with his order and issue the marriage licenses. Ms. Davis tearfully testified that she had not hesitated to stand by her religious views and defy the courts. “I didn't have to think about it,†she said. “There was no choice there.†At the hearing, Ms. Davis, an Apostolic Christian, was asked how she defined marriage. “Marriage is between one man and one woman,†she replied, before a lawyer asked her whether she had “the ability to believe marriage is anything else.†Ms. Davis offered a terse response: “No.†Later, one of the women who has unsuccessfully sought a marriage license in Rowan County, April Miller, told Judge Bunning that Ms. Davis's stand “marginalizes us again.†Judge Bunning left little doubt about his thinking, and said Ms. Davis's explanation for disobeying his order was “simply insufficient.†“It's not physically impossible for her to issue the licenses,†he said. “She's choosing not to.†While many observers had expected the judge to declare Ms. Davis to be in contempt, few believed he would jail her on Thursday. But Judge Bunning said he thought merely fining Ms. Davis would not be enough to prompt her compliance. As marshals led her from the courtroom, Ms. Davis said, “Thank you, judge.†Thursday's court ruling was the first since the Supreme Court on Monday turned down Ms. Davis's appeal of an Aug. 12 ruling by Judge Bunning directing her to issue marriage licenses. The justices' decision was expected to clear the way forsame-sex marriages in Rowan County. But on Tuesday, the clerk and her employees again refused to issue licenses in Morehead, the seat of Rowan County. Within hours lawyers for the couples who had initially sued Ms. Davis asked Judge Bunning to hold her in contempt. Supporters and opponents of Ms. Davis gathered outside the federal courthouse here Thursday hours before she was due to appear. One man waved a rainbow flag - a symbol of the gay rights movement - while another clutched a flag that said, “Liberty.†“We're supporters of the rule of the law,†said David Wills, a computer programmer from West Virginia who was first in line and said he had arrived at 4 a.m. for a hearing scheduled to begin seven hours later. “It's just really important to me that people be treated equally, fairly.†Thursday's court ruling was the first since the Supreme Court on Monday turned down Ms. Davis's appeal of an Aug. 12 ruling by Judge Bunning directing her to issue marriage licenses. The justices' decision was expected to clear the way forsame-sex marriages in Rowan County. But on Tuesday, the clerk and her employees again refused to issue licenses in Morehead, the seat of Rowan County. Within hours lawyers for the couples who had initially sued Ms. Davis asked Judge Bunning to hold her in contempt. Supporters and opponents of Ms. Davis gathered outside the federal courthouse here Thursday hours before she was due to appear. One man waved a rainbow flag - a symbol of the gay rights movement - while another clutched a flag that said, “Liberty.†“We're supporters of the rule of the law,†said David Wills, a computer programmer from West Virginia who was first in line and said he had arrived at 4 a.m. for a hearing scheduled to begin seven hours later. “It's just really important to me that people be treated equally, fairly.†http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/04/us/kim-davis-sam...
Heard she was married like 4 times. Last time I remember the church didn't think too fondly of divorce either. She just likes traditional marriage so much she can't stop.
You guys would hold her responsible for not following the tenents of her religion during the time before she converted to Christianity? How would she have known when she was getting her divorces and fornicating that someday she would be a Christian? I think she's completely wrong and is probably a hypocrite as you suggest but nothing I've seen indicates she is.
While I certainly don't agree with her I can respect that she is sticking by her guns. That being said your religious views have to be left at home when your pay check comes from the tax payers. Sorry about your conscious... I hear Walmart doesn't hand out wedding licenses maybe she can apply there
what is her sentence? Which jail/prison is she being sent to? From what I've read the judge ordered her to properly do her job and direct her employees to do the same and she will not be jailed. I feel that this title is misleading. Maybe I'm just missing something.
She can hold whatever beliefs she wants. Her personal beliefs should not impinge upon her performing a purely clerical matter though...issuing a license is not the same as bestowing a blessing upon the couple. It is a piece of paper that is recorded in County Records. That she cannot differentiate between the two means she needs to leave office before she costs the County even more money in litigation. We saw the same thing in a small North Texas county that also had a Clerk pulling the same sort of crap. The County Attorney was PISSED but could not give legal advice on two grounds: 1) it had not been sought from the County Attorney and 2) the Clerk hired someone from that Liberty group that is apparently also representing Davis. Once represented by counsel, other counsel have an ethical obligation to stand down as it related to that individual person or entity.
She was taken into federal custody by the US Marshals...and generally a contempt finding means jail until such time as one agrees to comply with the Court's directive. Hope she brought her toothbrush...
It's funny. This forum I swear. You don't follow the law for gay marriage everyone advocate you go to prison but god forbid a cop pulls you over and arrests you for drug possession. You all will be saying how this country is full of unjust laws (which it is). Get the government out of the marriage business.
If you choose to ignore the law, you do so at your own peril and, presumably, after having done your own personal cost/benefit analysis. Her job involves issuing licenses. She knew that when she ran for office. She swore to uphold the laws and is ignoring her Constitutional obligations (both State AND federal). That has consequences. For those who grow, smoke or otherwise use cannabis in States where it is not legal, the user knows the consequence and assumes the risk. If they get caught, they know the consequences and are prepared to pay them...
I applaud people who stand up for their principles. As long as it is done in a principled fashion. And that's where this car jumped the tracks. The clerk swore to uphold the law., not her personal beliefs. Subsequently, the duties she swore to perform included duties that she could not conscientiously perform. The principled course of action would be to tender a resignation due to an inability to perform sworn duties.
Obviously, but it won't stop people from bitching about it. Just as we think drug laws are unjust, she is allowed to believe gay marriage is unjust. Again, not saying I agree with her, but she has hat right to challenge it. I advocate anyone giving the finger to the federal government, whether I agree with their views or not. As I said before, get government out of the marriage business.
Do you think society would be better if there weren't any laws governing marriage, property rights and custodial rights? What about kinship rights like inheritance and access to visitation in the hospital or viewing remains? What about family members migration issues, support issues, etc., ? Getting the government out of the marriage business means abolishing a lot of the social framework that keeps our society civil.
What the hell does the government being in the marriage business have to do with keeping society civil? Absolutely nothing.
You have never been through a divorce or dealt with child support or estate issues, then, I must presume. If you had, you probably would have noticed that the goal is to generally keep the peace and not let anyone get too fucked over. They might not always get it just right, but it is a good thing.
I'm just kidding I don't actually give a shit if she gets divorced or not, more just making a joke than serious point of contention. All I care is that she follows the law of the land, Supreme Court, and does her job properly. Why should people there have to pay her salary if she can't fulfill her duties to the taxpayers. If God smites her for this that's pretty fucking cold and doesn't sound like a very forgiving or benevolent God. I don't want to get sidetracked on a religious debate, just think she should give people marriage licenses and I find her contention to be a little weak.
Damn that judge is cold as fuck. I heard that even the ACLU, who bought the suit up in the first place, was just calling for fines and not jailing her.