Judge
rejects latest stay request from Kentucky clerk Davis
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[September 24, 2015]
By Steve Bittenbender
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Reuters) - A federal
judge on Wednesday denied Kim Davis a stay of his order requiring her
office to issue marriage licenses to all eligible couples who want one,
the latest setback for the Kentucky county clerk who went to jail rather
than issue licenses to gay couples.
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Lawyers for couples suing Davis have said that since her return to
work, the Rowan County clerk has interfered with the issuance of
marriage licenses in violation of orders by U.S. District Judge
David Bunning's in Louisville.
An attorney for Davis has said she has made a good-faith effort to
comply with Bunning's orders. She has said licenses granted by her
staff are invalid because she has not given them that authority.
Davis, 50, has refused to issue any marriage licenses since the U.S.
Supreme Court ruling in June that made gay marriage legal across the
United States. Her stance has made Kentucky the latest flashpoint in
the U.S. debate over same-sex marriage.
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Davis has said her beliefs as an Apostolic Christian prevent her
from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. She has asked
Bunning repeatedly to put his orders requiring the issuance of
marriage licenses on hold while she appeals.
Her latest request stems from Bunning's order making it clear that
his decision applied to all eligible couples and was not limited to
the same-sex and opposite-sex couples who had sued Davis.
Bunning said Wednesday that without the clarification he would have
"left other eligible couples at the mercy of Davis' 'no marriages
policy.'"
"Such an approach would not only create piecemeal litigation, it
would be inconsistent with basic principles of justice and
fairness," Bunning wrote.
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On Monday, lawyers for the couples suing Davis said she had made
material changes to the marriage license forms after her return to
work on Sept. 14 that left questions about their legality.
The lawyers asked Bunning to make the clerk use the previous format
and reissue those given under the altered one, saying the office
should be put in receivership and fines assessed if interference
continues. He has not ruled on that request.
Davis spent five days in jail earlier in September. Her release was
conditioned in part on Davis not interfering directly or indirectly
with the issuance of licenses.
Her stance has won support from some conservative Republicans, who
say the issue is one of religious freedom. Republican presidential
candidates Mike Huckabee and Ted Cruz have been among those rallying
to her cause.
(Reporting by Steve Bittenbender; Writing by David Bailey; Editing
by Jonathan Oatis)
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