Madonna’s gay brother supports jailed Kentucky county clerk

A county clerk has appealed a judge’s decision to put her in jail for refusing to issue marriage licences to same-sex couples. John Kasich said that Davis should comply with the judge’s order, saying that while he respected her convictions, she is a government employee who must do her job.

Davis ignored multiple court orders demanding that she issue the licenses, declaring that she refused to do so on the basis of her sincerely-held Christian beliefs.

Meanwhile, Davis’ deputy clerks issued marriage licenses to same-sex couples Friday with their boss in jail. Monday’s motion asks the panel to allow Davis to leave jail while the case moves through the courts.

Judge David Bunning is in contempt of God’s Law, and the laws contained in both constitutions of the U.S. and the Commonwealth of Kentucky. “Again, the legislature has placed the authority to issue marriage licenses squarely on county clerks by statute, and I have no legal authority to relieve them of their statutory duty by executive order”.

In court papers Mrs Davis’s lawyers argued that issuing the licences would “irreparably and irreversibly violate her conscience”. An appeals court upheld the lower court ruling and last Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Davis’ request to block that ruling.

“The governor’s refusal to take elementary steps to protect religious liberties has now landed Kim Davis in jail”, said Liberty Counsel founder and chairman Mat Staver. “Show us the law”, said protestor Dave Daubenmire.

Davis, an apostolic Christian, says gay marriage is a sin.

The state legislature shouldn’t be scheduled to satisfy once more till January and Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear has refused to name a particular session.

“The fact that Kim Davis remains in jail today is an American tragedy that should arouse the conscience of America”, one of her lawyers, Harry Mihet, told NBC News.

Attorneys for Kim Davis officially appealed the ruling on Sunday. Some social conservatives say she is being denied religious freedom.

Outside Carter County Detention Center in Grayson, where Davis was being held, about 150 supporters gathered, local media reported. Candidate Mike Huckabee, a former Baptist minister, announced he would visit Davis in Kentucky next week, and said “we must end the criminalization of Christianity”.