Free Republic

The former Kentucky clerk who refused to grant a gay couple a marriage license must pay an additional $260,104 to the couple, a federal judge ruled last week. David Ermold and David Moore sued former Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis in 2015 after she declined to issue the couple a marriage license because doing so would violate “God’s definition of marriage” and her religious beliefs as a Christian. The additional fees Davis must pay are on top of the $100,000 in damages she was ordered to pay Ermold and Moore in September after losing the lawsuit the couple brought. Davis’s...

In Ermold v. Davis, (6th Cir., Sept. 29, 2022), the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a Kentucky federal district court decision that Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis does not have qualified immunity in a suit against her for stopping the issuance of all marriage licenses to avoid issuing licenses to same-sex couples. The court said in part: [P]laintiffs have not only “alleged” but also now “shown” that Davis violated their constitutional right to marry.... And, as we held three years ago, that right was “clearly established in Obergefell.”The court held that insofar as Davis has raised a free...

A federal appeals court wrestled on Wednesday with whether local government leaders in North Carolina are violating the Constitution by holding exclusively Christian prayers at their meetings - the first time a court at that level has addressed the issue since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a town government's favor in a similar case in 2014. An attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union urged a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold the lower court's ruling that the Rowan County Commissioner's practice of opening their meetings with prayers that almost always referred to...

FRANKFORT, KY, November 9, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) - On December 8, Kentucky will have a new governor, and Kim Davis will have a chance to do her job without denying her faith. Governor-elect Matt Bevin has promised that he will change the state's marriage forms, removing the name of the county clerk entirely - the reform Davis had pleaded with state lawmakers to enact before spending five days in jail. Davis, the clerk of Rowan County in eastern Kentucky, is a born again Christian who believes participating in a same-sex "marriage" would make her guilty of a major sin. Before the...

LOUISVILLE (Reuters) - Kentucky Governor-elect Matt Bevin said on Friday that when he takes office in December he will order changes to the state marriage license form to appease clerks who have objected to issuing licenses to same-sex couples. "One thing I will take care of right away is we will remove the names of the county clerks from the marriage form," Bevin told reporters in the Capitol rotunda. Bevin, only the second Republican elected governor in Kentucky since 1971, said he would make the change by executive order. It is unclear what impact his order would have on the...

A deputy for Kim Davis, [] is worried he's been issuing invalid marriage licenses, according to papers filed in federal court. Davis replaced the old marriage license forms with forms that don't carry her name, the name of the county or any reference to a clerk or deputy clerk, said Mason's lawyer, Richard Hughes. The new forms also require Mason to list his initials, instead of a signature, with a notarization beside the initials, Hughes said. The same-sex couple that sued Davis for not issuing a marriage license said, in a separate court filing, that Davis is "requiring her clerk...

Marriage licenses obtained by three couples in Rowan County were altered so they did not include the name of county Clerk Kim Davis, who had been jailed for refusing to issue licenses because of her opposition to same-sex marriage. Copies of licenses issued to three of the couples who sued Davis, which were included in the court record, show that where Davis' name ordinarily would be, the words "Rowan County" were used instead. So instead of the forms saying they were issued on a certain date "in the office of Kim Davis, Rowan County County Clerk," which would be standard,...

Kentucky Republican candidate for governor Matt Bevin sparred with CNN host Don Lemon in a contentious interview on national television Tuesday night. Bevin appeared on CNN to discuss the controversy surrounding Democratic Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis’ refusal to issue marriage licenses and her incarceration on contempt charges. The back-and-forth between Bevin and Lemon became labored at times. During the interview Lemon played Bevin a clip from the TV show “The West Wing,” which has gone viral in response to the Davis controversy in recent weeks. The clip features actor Martin Sheen playing fictional President Jed Bartlet quoting Bible verses...

Rowan County, Ky., is a lesson for America in how not to resolve social conflict. The local head clerk is sitting in jail, and a judge has ordered her deputy clerks to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in her absence.When the Supreme Court redefined marriage for the nation in an activist decision this June, it took the issue out of the democratic process and made it much harder for citizens to navigate our differences on this fundamental institution. Both sides of the debate knew the decision would have significant social effects. For civil servants like clerks who issue marriage...

The left is going bananas over Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis and her refusal to issue marriage licenses to gays. They applaud the heavy hand of the government and rejoice that a judge has taken the extraordinary step of having her placed behind bars, guarded by U.S. Marshals. The double standard revealed her is astonishing. Now keep in mind that gay marriage is in no way every mentioned in the constitution. Nor is marriage generally. But the 2nd Amendment makes it abundantly clear that every American has a right to keep and bear arms. There is no question on this. None...

A consensus appears to be developing among otherwise reasonable people that Kim Davis, of Rowan County fame, either needs to start issuing marriage licenses or quit her job.For those just joining us, a county clerk in Kentucky is refusing to issue marriage licenses against her conscience and is also refusing to resign. Her name, which should be on a bronze plaque on the side of the courthouse, is Kim Davis. A federal judge has ordered her to appear in his courtroom Thursday to explain why Davis should not be held in contempt of court for refusing to issue marriage...

It happened in Kentucky minutes ago with Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis explaining to a gay couple why she would not give them a marriage license.... Cameras were there......

Upon her election to the role of Rowan County Clerk in November 2014, Kim Davis said she felt "humbled" and "blessed." Speaking to the Morehead News, she made three promises: "I promise to each and every one that I will be the very best working clerk that I can be and will be a good steward of their tax dollars and follow the statutes of this office to the letter." Davis's willingness, or unwillingness, to follow those statutes are now the subject of intense national focus. She has refused on religious grounds to grant marriage licenses -- to both same-sex...

ROWAN COUNTY -- A group of Rowan County residents have organized armed patrols from the rooftops of their homes overnight Friday to protect themselves from a man suspected of arson and attempted murder. Neighbors are upset deputies aren't on constant patrols or on a manhunt in search of David Lovett, a man accused of arson and attempted murder. If authorities can't catch him, they are ready to take up arms. "We're not going to let this thing go by," said Richard Walker. "We're protecting our property and our homes." According to police, Lovett created a "hit list" of residents he...

Some anonymous post-election gloating by mail has angered local Democrats. "It's disturbing," April Sherrill said of a postcard sent to her Mount Ulla home. Sherrill is secretary of the Rowan County Democratic Party and chaired the John Kerry-John Edwards campaign in Rowan. Other Democrats in Salisbury have received similar postcards, which had only this type-written text: "YOUR GUY LOST NOW GET OVER IT Thank the Lord for George W. Bush and his leadership, testimony and witness. Just think what this country would be like with a confessed war criminal, traitor of our country, murder (sic) of unborn children, kissing up...