A Kentucky county clerk was jailed on Thursday
for refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay couples, and a full day of court
hearings failed to put an end to her two-month-old legal fight over a U.S.
Supreme Court ruling upholding same-sex marriage.
U.S. District Judge David Bunning found Rowan
County Clerk Kim Davis in contempt then elicited a pledge from five of her six
deputies to issue the licenses. But attorneys for Davis said she would deny
them that authority, raising questions about the validity of any licenses they might
issue.
The 49-year-old woman, who has emerged as a
darling of social conservatives, has refused to issue licenses to any couples,
gay or straight, since the U.S. Supreme Court in June ruled that same-sex
couples have the right to marry under the U.S. Constitution, citing her beliefs
as an Apostolic Christian.
"Marriage is a union between one man and
one woman," the soft-spoken Davis told the court under questioning by her
attorney.
Bunning warned the deputies they would be back
in court if they refused to resume issuing licenses on Friday. "I would
hate to have to come back to Ashland," he said, referring to the court
venue. He said it would be up to same-sex couples to decide whether to test the
validity of the licenses.
Davis, who broke down crying earlier in her
testimony, was led away by U.S. marshals after the first hearing, where Bunning
held her in contempt and ordered her jailed. She did not attend the subsequent
hearings, but communicated through her attorneys.
Thursday's proceedings were the culmination of
months of legal wrangling and refusals by Davis to abide by a judge's order to
do her job, drawing global attention and protests from those both for and
against gay marriage rights.
Before and during the hearings, about 200
demonstrators gathered outside the Ashland, Kentucky, courthouse, some chanting
slogans and many holding signs. As word of the ruling emerged, supporters of
same-sex marriage erupted in cheers.
Davis was being held at the Carter County
Detention Center in Grayson, Kentucky. Her son Nathan, the one deputy who would
not agree to issue gay marriage licenses, was not jailed.
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