By John Mack Freeman
Much of the media has been following the unfolding story surrounding Kim Davis, the clerk of court for Rowan County, Kentucky. Davis had refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. After being sued, she lost in a federal district court, and emergency appeals for stays to both the Sixth Circuit and the Supreme Court were denied. On August 31, the initial stay on Davis being forced to issue those licenses expired. After refusing again on September 1, Davis and her entire staff were ordered into court on September 3.
On the third, many expected Davis to be held in contempt of court for refusing to follow the judge’s orders. Most expected she would be levied with a fine that would be offset by rightwing crowdfunding that would turn her into some sort of martyr victim (as has been done in numerous other cases). However, the judge noted that a fine would not be a genuine disincentive, and he ordered Davis to be incarcerated. Davis further rejected a deal that came later in the day that would have kept her out of jail if she had just allowed her staff to issue the licenses without getting in their ways. As of this writing, Davis remains in jail.
Same-sex couples in Rowan County are now able to get licenses from the deputy clerks that work in the office (except for Davis’s son, who says he will still refuse). Dueling protests around both sides of this issue met people at the clerk’s office, but for now, love has won and has started to stick.