Some county clerks are still refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in a number of counties in the nation. Until now, most gay rights organizations have simply tried to reason with these folks. However, the ACLU has decided to file a class action lawsuit against a Kentucky county clerk who refuses to issue the marriage licenses - Rowan County Clerk.
From the ACLU:
Lawsuit says denial of marriage licenses to same gender and opposite gender couples unconstitutional
The American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky today filed a lawsuit on behalf of four Rowan County couples, two same-gender couples and two opposite-gender couples, denied marriage licenses by County Clerk Kim Davis. Since the U.S. Supreme Court issued a sweeping and historic decision that affords gay and lesbian couples the legal right to marry, Ms. Davis has refused to provide marriage licenses to any couple applying for one in Rowan County citing “religious concerns.”
In explaining the ACLU’s decision to file suit on the couples’ behalf, ACLU of Kentucky Cooperating Attorney Laura Landenwich stated, “Ms. Davis has the absolute right to believe whatever she wants about God, faith, and religion, but as a government official who swore an oath to uphold the law, she cannot pick and choose who she is going to serve, or which duties her office will perform based on her religious beliefs.”
Commenting on the suit, the ACLU of Kentucky Executive Director Michael Aldridge stated, “When our laws are updated or changed, government officials have a duty and a responsibility to impartially administer those laws.”
From
kentucky.com:
In Morehead, Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis said she won't drop her opposition. Since Friday, Davis said, she has turned away two opposite-sex couples and one same-sex couple seeking marriage licenses. Protesters were gathered outside her office Tuesday morning.
"I cannot compromise my conscience. I can't do that," Davis said. "We've instructed people they're welcome to go to other counties. It's not like they can't go somewhere else."
Davis said she is getting many calls and emails criticizing her decision since she announced it Monday.
"For me, it's about the love of God," she said. "For them, it's hatred — calling me names, saying things I would never say to my worst enemy in a million years. But they have that right."
Rowan County resident Josh Akers helped organize the protest outside Davis' office, which he said drew about 75 people at one point.
In Kentucky, it's a Class A misdemeanor — first-degree official misconduct — for an elected official to refuse to perform the duties of office.
From
LGBTQ Nation:
She is among a handful of judges and clerks across the South who have defied the high court’s order, maintaining that the right to “religious freedom” protects them from having to comply.
In Tennessee on Thursday, the Decatur County clerk and two employees in the clerk’s office resigned due to their opposition to same-sex marriage, County Commissioner David Boroughs told The Jackson Sun.
Immediately following the Supreme Court ruling last Friday, Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear ordered all clerks to fall in line. Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway followed up with a warning that failing to do so might open them up to civil liability.
