Kentucky clerk who opposes gay marriage released from jail with strict orders

Although the Kentucky county clerk who refused to give marriage licenses to same-sex couples was freed from jail on Tuesday after only five days, it is still uncertain as to whether or not she will chose to interfere with the issuance of the licenses by her office or not.

Kim Davis was released by Judge David L. Bunning because he said he was satisfied that her office was “fulfilling its obligation to issue marriage licenses to all legally eligible couples.”

But the judge accompanied the order with a stern warning, according to The New York Times.

“Defendant Davis shall not interfere in any way, directly or indirectly, with the efforts of her deputy clerks to issue marriage licenses to all legally eligible couples,” and that the deputies would report to him every two weeks. “If Defendant Davis should interfere in any way with their issuance, that will be considered a violation of this order and appropriate sanctions will be considered.”

Upon her release, Davis spoke to a rally of cheering supporters outside the Carter County Detention Center. She was accompanied not only by her lawyer, Matthew D. Stayer, but also by Republican presidential candidate and former Arkansas governor, Mike Huckabee.

“Thank you all so much, I love you all so very much,” she said after composing herself. “I just want to give God the glory. His people have rallied and you are a strong people. Just keep on pressing. Don’t let down. Because He is here.”

She was immediately asked by reporters if she would indeed abide by the judge’s order and not interfere with the processing of licenses by her office. Davis refused to answer.

“She’s not going to violate her conscience,” Mr. Staver said.

The remark by her lawyer suggested that she would in fact continue to defy the court, regardless of what Judge Bunning asked her to do. Stayer pointed out that at this time, the problem is that the licenses say they were issued by the Rowan County clerk, and Davis, as clerk, will not approve them. He added that if this wording was eliminated, she would not stand in the way of licenses being granted.

“The court order did not resolve the underlying issue,” he said.

Davis has continually fought against the Supreme Court decision from June that legalized all same-sex marriages across the nation claiming that her beliefs as an Apostolic Christian forbid her to sanction the marriages.

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