Same-sex couples denied marriage licenses

MOREHEAD, Ky. - At least four same-sex couples were refused marriage licenses at the Rowan County Courthouse on Thursday in defiance of a federal court order that called on county Clerk Kim Davis to set aside her religious objections and provide the forms to all couples.

All four were turned away before noon, with deputy clerks saying that Davis is on vacation and had instructed them not to give out any licenses despite the injunction U.S. District Judge David Bunning issued against Davis on Wednesday.

"We will keep coming back," said Karen Roberts, one of the plaintiffs in the legal battle over licenses. "We are going to fight this to the very end, even if that means fighting her out of office in four years."

Another applicant, James Yates, said he was exhausted and frustrated by the delay, which has caused him to postpone marrying his partner, Will Smith Jr. They have been together for more than nine years and originally planned to wed in July.

“There’s still that driving thing in the back of your mind — you want to get it before some other delay comes up, before they change their mind,” Yates said. “It makes me worried about other things when we do get married. What if they refuse to let us file any joint paperwork?”

Davis has refused licenses to all couples following the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that cleared the way for gay marriage nationwide. The American Civil Liberties Union filed for the injunction on behalf of two same-sex and two opposite-sex couples who were denied licenses in her office.

Bunning ruled Wednesday that Davis is bound by her constitutional oath and that her religious convictions have no bearing on the “purely legal” task of certifying information on licenses and making sure couples are legally qualified to wed.

Still, Davis has maintained that signing off on the paperwork amounts to condoning same-sex unions in violation of her religious beliefs. Her attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.

Legal experts said Bunning could find Davis in contempt and fine or even jail her.

Bunning could initiate contempt proceedings on his own or the plaintiffs could file a motion to find her in contempt, said Louisville lawyers Mike Mazzoli and Kent Wicker, who are former federal prosecutors and not involved with the case.

“We don’t intend to let this go unaddressed,” said Dan Canon, one of the plaintiffs’ lawyers.

Davis’ lawyer filed a motion late Thursday to stay Bunning’s order, but he hasn’t ruled on it yet, and no date has been set for arguing it. Davis also filed a notice that she will appeal.

Canon said the plaintiffs first will respond in opposition to the motion for a stay, then see what happens next.

“Unless and until the District Court officially stays its own order, or the Court of Appeals does so, the order remains fully effective, and the violation of the order would be an act of contempt of court,” Mazzoli said.

Exchanges in the courthouse Thursday remained brief and calm as a handful of demonstrators protested outside in support of the couples. But opinions appeared mixed overall in Rowan County, an Eastern Kentucky community that is home to Morehead State University.

Protesters said they were disappointed that Davis continued to defy the court ruling, including William Mefford, who said “a great victory for equality had its face spat on by our local clerk, who decided she wanted to try and run the office as a theocracy.”

But Randy Smith, an evangelist who ministers to a local elderly group and has rallied in support of Davis, said the protests are driven by people from the university and that most in the county “stand solidly” behind Davis.

He said a simple fix is for the state to remove clerks’ names from licenses.

“It’s not about fixing it. It’s about forcing people to compromise their convictions,” Smith said. “The proponents of gay marriage simply want to force people, especially Christians, to accept what they are doing.”

Most of the couples said they had expected clerks to deny the licenses and were not surprised when they left the office without forms. But they also expressed frustration over the uncertainty, saying that it has wreaked havoc on wedding plans.

Yates, 41, said he and Will Smith, 32, decided to get married a few years ago and even considered driving to another state to make it official. The couple eventually decided not to leave since their union would not be recognized in Kentucky anyway, he said.

“It was never an issue about us being gay to pay car taxes or property taxes,” he said. “I want it to be accepted here. It’s law now.”

Yates also said Davis' policy is disconnected from the community. He argued that it doesn’t reflect the majority opinion in Rowan and that other officials in the courthouse appeared conflicted.

“This is probably one of the few communities in Eastern Kentucky where you really can be open and out most of the time, and there’s a lot of support,” he said.

The sad part, Will Smith said, is that "this is going to be how we remember how we got our marriage license — and the hoops we had to jump through."

Roberts and her partner, April Miller, said they have been together 11 years and decided to get married in 2008. They were among four couples who sought licenses from Davis following the Supreme Court decision.

Both said they were excited by Bunning’s ruling, which found that couples should not have to drive to other communities for licenses. Miller said she shouldn’t have to go elsewhere because “this is my county … we pay taxes here.”

Another applicant, Sahara Gentry, said she wanted to “prove a point” and drove with her partner from Berea to request a license in Rowan County so that officials could see the faces of people they are turning down.

Gentry said she felt agitated “because I’ve had to put up with controversy my whole life, especially growing up in southern Kentucky. And when the law was passed, I just feel like people as small as Kim Davis can’t stay in the way of that.”

The Family Foundation also weighed in Thursday, arguing that Bunning’s decision ignored federal and state religious freedom laws, along with the First Amendment.

Spokesman Martin Cothran said in a statement that same-sex couples are now considered a privileged class and that couples in Rowan County have multiple alternatives to obtain a license.

“But there is only one way for Kim Davis to exercise her religious freedom,” he said. “This is just one more case where people in a privileged cultural position now receive extra credit when they go before a judge, and part of that extra credit involves getting to rewrite the law."

Reporter Mike Wynn can be reached at (502) 875-5136. Email him at mwynn@courier-journal.com. Reporter Andrew Wolfson contributed to this report.