Judgment Day: Kentucky clerk jailed for contempt of court over refusal to grant marriage licences to same-sex couples
Kim Davis’s actions have divided the Republican presidential contenders, most of whom have remained silent on the issue this week.
For a moment there, it looked as though Kim Davis might stay out of jail. The 49-year-old Kentucky county clerk, who grabbed the national spotlight by refusing in the face of multiple court orders to begin issuing marriage licences to same-sex couples, had been given an out.
She could remain a free woman, the judge said, if she gave permission to her deputies to sign the certificates in her stead. The judge gave her time to consult with her attorneys.
But when the court reconvened after a short recess on Thursday, Davis was not in her seat. An attorney explained that Davis, an Apostolic Christian, “does not grant her authority nor would allow any employee to issue those licences”.
And so Davis consigned herself to jail, sparking a fresh round of legal wrangling and political calculation in the face of the most audacious display of defiance on the issue of same-sex marriage since the Supreme Court declared in June that gay couples had a constitutional right to wed.
On one hand, Davis’s situation is rare. For the most part, even the most ardent opponents of same-sex marriage have followed the law, with gay rights groups reporting that the vast majority of county officials across the country are issuing marriage licences to all couples, gay or straight.
But on the other hand, the prospect of a wife, mother and long-time public servant sitting in jail to defend her beliefs will probably inflame the debate over how to balance the rights of gays to marry with the ability of people of faith to freely exercise their religion.
