Gay Marriage Kentucky

Rowan County, Ky. clerk Kim Davis, who was jailed last year for refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay couples, will be a guest of Rep. Jim Jordan at Tuesday's State of the Union speech.

(Carter County Detention Center via AP)

WASHINGTON - House Freedom Caucus Chair Jim Jordan - a Republican from Ohio's Champaign County - courted controversy on Tuesday by giving Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis a ticket to attend President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech.

Davis made headlines last year when she was jailed after citing religious grounds in refusing to provide marriage licenses to gay people in her Kentucky county following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling legalizing gay marriage.

A statement from Davis' attorney - Mat Staver - said she'll attend the speech to be a "visible reminder of the Administration's attack on religious liberty."

"We will be there to stand for religious freedom and to represent Judeo/Christian values," said Staver, who heads a conservative group called Liberty Counsel.

It's widely expected that Obama's speech will praise that Supreme Court decision, since Michelle Obama invited its lead plaintiff - Cincinnati's Jim Obergefell - to view the speech as her guest.

David Cicilline, an openly gay Democratic congressman from Rhode Island, released a statement on Twitter that called Davis' presence at the speech "an insult to every LGBT American."

Kim Davis refused to follow law, discriminated against gay couples. Her invite is an insult to every LGBT American. https://t.co/0AcqmOLrzY — David Cicilline (@davidcicilline) January 12, 2016

Jordan acknowledged Tuesday that Davis will use a ticket provided by his office to attend the speech.

"Our staff heard from the Family Research Council that Ms. Davis and her family hoped to attend the State of the Union address and so we offered a ticket," said a statement from Jordan.

Huffington Post reported that Jordan did not know he had invited Davis until the publication asked him about it and he checked with his staff. But he said he had no objections to his ticket going to Davis.

"I found out today," Jordan told Huffington Post. "And I'm being totally honest with you: That's -- Family Research Council asked us, her family wanted a ticket, and we said 'OK.'"

The Family Research Council is a conservative organization that objects to gay marriage. Jordan has taken repeated stances to oppose gay marriage, including backing a Constitutional amendment to oppose gay marriage and introducing legislation to overturn the District of Columbia's decision several years ago to recognize same-sex unions from other states.

One of the Democrats who filed paperwork to run for Jordan's congressional seat - retired Oberlin teacher Janet Garrett - criticized Jordan for giving his tickets to "political cronies" instead of constituents and using them to promote someone from Kentucky who defied the U.S. law.

"It's just the latest example of how Jim Jordan puts Washington politics first, instead of Ohio," said Garrett, whom Jordan defeated in 2014 by a 68-32 percent margin.