Clerk asks US Supreme Court to intervene in marriage case

Davis argues that signing off on the licenses for same-sex couples violates her beliefs as an Apostolic Christian. Davis continued to refuse to issue marriage licenses even after Bunning ordered her two weeks ago to do so.

On Friday Davis’ lawyers made an emergency filing with the nation’s high court stating that she “holds an undisputed sincerely-held religious belief that marriage is a union between a man and a woman, only”.

Her attorney, Johnathan D. Christman said that if Davis is forced to abandon her Christian principles, it is something that can not be undone.

But a deputy clerk in Davis’ office on Thursday told William Smith Jr. and James Yates, a couple for almost a decade, the office believes Bunning’s delay remains in effect until August. 31. But the couples counter that they have a right to get a marriage license in the county where they live, work and pay taxes.

With the federal judge’s stay on his order expiring on Monday, it’s to be expected Kim Davis will not hhold the title of County Clerk for much longer.

“We’ve already had four federal judges speak very clearly on this particular issue, and I don’t anticipate the response from Justice Kagan is going to be any different”, Canon said.

“No authority exists for her removal or suspension from the office by Rowan County government”, said Watkins. And they suspect she will continue to refuse after this one. Although the court of appeals has yet to rule on the appeal the clerk has filed to challenge Judge Bunning’s ruling, it found “little or no likelihood that the clerk in her official capacity will prevail” when that appeal is decided.

Camryn Colen and his wife Alexis said that it was another county staffer that issued the license, but that Davis is allegedly the one who said she didn’t need to see Colen’s birth certificate, which still identifies him as female. When Yates asks the worker if this can be a direct order from Davis, he nods sure and provides, “Sorry, guys”.

“Sadly, on the time, we aren’t giving out marriage licenses“, an worker at Davis’ workplace replies.

The Republican president of the state Senate spoke at a rally last week in support of Davis.

After being sued by a gay couple who said they should not have to drive to another country to find a clerk who will marry them – the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals last week refused to intervene in a previous ruling that Davis should stop discriminating. She has the option of acting on the request alone, or instead sharing it with her colleagues – now the normal practice in most cases.

“They don’t care about it being legal”, Yates said Thursday after being denied a marriage license for the third time. For some, it will be their fourth attempt.

“Certainly none of those are appealing to my client”, Staver said. And we don’t expect that to change.