Ky. clerk Kim Davis doesn't interfere as marriage license issued

MOREHEAD, Ky. — Under the threat of more jail time, Rowan County (Ky.) Clerk Kim Davis remained out of sight Monday as one of her deputy clerks issued a marriage licence to yet another lesbian couple, drawing heckles from some anti-gay protesters who questioned Davis' decision to not interfere.

Shannon and Carmen Wampler-Collins were the first couple to obtain a license since Davis returned to work after her high-profile release from the Carter County Detention Center last week. Davis has been at the center of the dispute about gay marriage and religious liberty.

Davis said earlier in the day that, while she still refuses to authorize marriage licenses, she will not stand in the way of a deputy clerk who began providing them more than a week ago. The clerk had been jailed for six days on a contempt of court charge.

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Wording on the license issued Monday was altered to remove any mention of Davis or her office. Instead, a section of the license now states that it was issued pursuant to a federal court order rather than the county clerk.

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“It’s a temporary patch," said Shannon Wampler-Collins. "It will work for right now, but I would like to see her resign if she is not going to do the job.”

The couple has been together for 23 years and already held a commitment ceremony in 1995. They said they don't have any concerns about the validity of the license since most experts seem to argue that the forms are legitimate.

"We are going forward until someone tells us otherwise,” Carmen said.

Others denounced the couple as they slogged through a crowd of protesters and media outside the courthouse, and two hecklers taunted them inside the clerk's office as they filled out paperwork.

Elizabeth Johnston, a protester with Operation Save America who traveled from Ohio with her nine children to support Davis, called the deputy who issued the license a coward.

"It is a compromise to let homosexual marriages come out of this office," she said. "This is not about just Kim's name. This is about ... whether we are going to defy God you defined marriage as between one man and one woman."

But Shannon Wampler-Collins said she was so happy to get the paperwork that she didn't even hear the detractors.

Davis announced her decision early Monday, reading a statement outside the courthouse and bemoaning that her deputy clerks have been caught in the middle of her case.

"If any of them feels that they must issue an unauthorized license to avoid being thrown in jail, I understand their tough choice and I will take no action against them," she said. "However, any unauthorized license they issue will not have my name, my title or my authority on it. Instead, the license will state that they are issued pursuant to a federal court order."

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Davis said she faced a choice between her conscience and freedom, and prayed hard about her decision. She raised "great doubts" that licenses issued without her authority are valid but called it a remedy to reconcile her conscience with the federal injunction ordering her to provide the forms.

"I don't want to have this conflict. I don't want to be in the spotlight. And I certainly don't want to be a whipping post," she said. "I am no hero. I'm just a person who has been transformed by the grace of God."

Davis reiterated her plea for Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear and legislators to rewrite state marriage laws to accommodate her religious objections. She argued that millions of others in the public and private sector face similar conflicts.

"Are we not big enough, a loving enough and a tolerant enough state to find a way to accommodate my deeply held religious convictions," she asked.

At least one deputy clerk, Brian Mason, has been issuing licenses since U.S. District Judge David Bunning jailed Davis for contempt of court. Mason said last week that he will continue to provide the forms even if Davis orders him to stop. Around 10 couples — mostly same-sex — have obtained the paperwork so far.

Bunning released Davis from jail on Tuesday, warning her not to interfere with any deputy who has issued licenses in her absence. Deputy clerks also were called on to file regular status updates with the court.

Mary Hargis, from the Rowan County Rights Coalition, which protested Davis' policy for weeks, said the case was due to bigotry and that to equate Davis with civil rights icons — as many have sought to do — is a "travesty."

"When she willfully decided that she was going to disobey the law, she became a criminal. For whatever reason, all criminals have an excuse for their actions."

Ante Pavkovic, a pastor from North Carolina who has protested same-sex marriage outside the courthouse for about two weeks, appeared conflicted over the announcement Monday. He said Davis' attorney is probably trying to protect her but not addressing the larger issues of principle. He said it's hard to know whether Davis backed down without talking with her first.

"On appearances, it is not enough," he said. "It's yielding our republic to a rogue Supreme Court ... and that's a big mistake if that's what it is."

Timeline of dissent

Soon after the Supreme Court ruled to allow gays to marry, Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis decided to stop offering any marriage licenses through her office.

• June 26. Supreme Court rules 5-4 that states must recognize and allow same-sex marriage. Later that Friday, Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear directs county clerks to comply.

• June 29. Davis declines to issue marriage licenses on Monday, saying the new law of the land conflicts with her religious beliefs.

• July 2. American Civil Liberties Union sues Davis and Rowan County on behalf of four couples, two gay and two straight.

• July 8. Some county clerks ask for a special session of the Kentucky Legislature to pass a bill to accommodate those who have religious reasons for not issuing the licenses. Beshear says no, in part because of the expense.

• Aug. 12. U.S. District Judge David Bunning says Davis must issue licenses to same-sex couples.

• Aug. 27. The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals declines to grant Davis a stay of Bunning's decision.

• Sept. 1. The Supreme Court refuses to grant Davis a stay.

• Sept. 3. Davis is found in contempt of court and taken to jail.

• Sept. 8. Davis is released from jail.

Contributing: Chris Kenning, The (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal; Doug Stanglin and Trisha Thadani, USA TODAY.

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