Kentucky Clerk to Be Tried for Contempt of Court for Continuing to Refuse Marriage Licenses

Kim Davis, a clerk of Rowan County in Kentucky, has continued to refuse giving marriage licenses even after the Supreme Court has refused to grant her a reprieve to allow her to continue.

"To issue a marriage license which conflicts with God's definition of marriage, with my name affixed to the certificate, would violate my conscience," Davis said in a statement. "It is not a light issue for me. It is a Heaven or Hell decision."

Davis' continued refusal to give marriage licenses to couples led the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to file a motion against Davis to try her for contempt of court, which was granted. Davis will be tried on Thursday at 11 AM. If she is found guilty, she may be subject to fines or time in prison.

"Davis is entitled to her religious beliefs on same-sex marriage, but she can't shirk her official duties because of them," said Heather L. Weaver of the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief. "She can't continue to deny loving couples their fundamental constitutional rights -- not without showing contempt for the court and the Constitution and not without facing the consequences that may bring."

As an elected official, Davis cannot be fired, but she can be impeached by the Kentucky General Assembly, or she can choose to resign. However, the General Assembly is currently on recess, and Davis has expressed that she does not intend to resign.

"I never imagined a day like this would come, where I would be asked to violate a central teaching of Scripture and of Jesus himself regarding marriage," said Davis, who was elected as a Democrat. "I was elected by the people to serve as the county clerk. I intend to continue to serve the people of Rowan County, but I cannot violate my conscience."

Since the Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage on June 26, Davis has refused to issue marriage licenses to all couples, both gay and straight, asserting that her religious conscience was at stake. Since then, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed lawsuits against her on behalf of two same-sex couples and two heterosexual couples who were denied marriage licenses. Both a district court judge and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals subsequently ruled against Davis. Davis then made an emergency motion on Monday asking the Supreme Court to extend a stay on the appeals court ruling (which would have allowed her an extended period of time to be able to refuse to grant marriage licenses), which the Supreme Court rejected.