Clerk Kim Davis returns to work for the first time since being jailed for disobeying a federal judge and said she was faced with a “seemingly impossible choice” between following her conscience and losing her freedom over denying marriage licenses to gay couples.
Davis said she decided not to interfere with the marriage licenses, but declared they would not be authorized by her and went on to question their validity.
In her first day back in the office after a five-day stint in jail, Davis said she was torn between obeying God and a directive from the judge that “forces me to disobey God.” Davis, an Apostolic Christian, believes gay marriage is a sin.
“I don’t want to have this conflict. I don’t want to be in the spotlight. And I certainly don’t want to be a whipping post,” Davis said. “I am no hero. I’m just a person that’s been transformed by the grace of God, who wants to work, be with my family. I just want to serve my neighbors quietly without violating my conscience.”
U.S. District Judge David Bunning held her in contempt and ordered her to jail when she continued to refuse to issue the licenses. In her absence, her deputies issued at least seven licenses to gay couples and altered the forms to exclude Davis’ name.
The deputy clerk who handed them out, Brian Mason, said Monday that will continue to hand out the licenses despite his boss’s objections.
“I love my deputy clerks and I hate that they have been caught in the middle of any of this,” Davis said. “If any of them feel that they must issue an authorized license to avoid being thrown in jail, I understand their tough choice and I will take no action against them.”
The governor, the attorney general and the county attorney have said the licenses are valid. Davis and her attorneys claim otherwise.
My Thoughts
Personally, I think If Kim Davis wants to be the first to refuse her “authority” to follow the law then she should be the “first” to have her “authority” removed without a long grueling “impeachment” process. Make her OLD NEWS already #EasyButton Furthermore, the portion of her salary that is allocated specifically FOR issuing marriage licenses should be revoked and given to Brian Mason who IS doing his job.
