U.S. District Judge David Bunning demanded that a Rowan County Clerk, Kim Davis, issues licenses last week to two gay couples.
On Monday, the judge said that she was not entitled to any more delays on the issue of the licenses. At the same time, the federal judge gave her some room which she takes her religious objections case to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal, according to ABC.
On both sides of the court, attorneys disagreed about the implications. The attorney representing the gay couples, Dan Canon, said that Davis remains under the judge’s orders while Mat Staver, representing the woman, said the convoluted order grants her request for more time.
It is clear to all that Davis will continue to refuse any marriage licenses to anyone in the county.
“This is not something I decided because of this decision that came down,” Davis testified in federal court last month. “It was thought-out and, you know, I sought God on it.”
Davis had worked for her mother for 27 years in clerking as a family business. Her son, Nathan, also now works for her and he has joined her in turning away gay couples seeking marriage licenses.
After the new federal allowed gay marriage across the nation, most U.S. cities are complying. In Kentucky, objectors were tuned into the legal authorities after their governor, Steve Beshear, ordered them to issue licenses to same-sex couples or for them to resign.
Davis is the last clerk still holding out and the first to be challenged in federal court. Davis has said that she would like the Kentucky lawmakers to allow the clerks to opt out of issuing marriage licenses for religious reasons, but the governor has declined so far.
At this time, Davis faces fines and possible jail time for contempt of court. But in order to be impeached from her $80k a year job, it would have to be done by legislature which is an unlikely event.
