Judge Orders Kim Davis to Jail

A federal judge has ordered Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who has refused to issue same-sex marriage licenses, to jail. 

“The court cannot condone the willful disobedience of its lawfully issued order,” Judge David L. Bunning, of Federal District Court in Kentucky, said. “If you give people the opportunity to choose which orders they follow, that’s what potentially causes problems.”

According to the New York Times, Judge Bunning said Ms. Davis would be released once she agreed to comply with his order and issue the marriage licenses.

After the Supreme Court declined to Davis appeal on Monday, Judge Bunning ordered her to issue marriage licenses to all eligible couples in Rowan County, Kentucky where she is a clerk. She and her staff continued to refuse to do so, on what she claimed were religious grounds. The court then held her in contempt. She continued to deny licenses to same-sex couples citing "God's authority."

According to the Times:

“I never imagined a day like this would come, where I would be asked to violate a central teaching of Scripture and of Jesus himself regarding marriage,” she said in the statement. “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.”

Supporters and opponents of Ms. Davis gathered outside the federal courthouse here 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.”