Ohio governor weighs in on controversy over jailed official refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses: ‘She’s not running a church’

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk jailed last week for refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses, is “not running a church” and should comply with the law, the Republican presidential hopeful John Kasich said on Sunday.

Same-sex marriage opponents rally around Kentucky clerk's jailing Read more

Kasich, the governor of Ohio and one of 17 running for the Republican presidential nomination, said while he respected Davis’ personal beliefs, it was her duty as a government official to comply with the law.

His position contrasted with that of the former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, who has said he plans to visit Davis in jail and stage a rally in her defence.

In a landmark decision in June, the supreme court ruled same-sex marriage to be the law of the land.



“I respect the fact that this lady doesn’t agree, but she’s also a government employee,” Kasich said, in an interview Sunday on ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos. “She’s not running a church.”

“I wouldn’t force this on a church, but in terms of her responsibility I think she has to comply.”

He added: “I don’t like the fact that she’s sitting in a jail. That’s just absurd as well. But I think she should follow the law.”

Davis was jailed on Thursday after a US district judge ordered her in contempt of court over her refusal to comply with orders that she issue same-sex marriage licenses. The Rowan County clerk rejects the supreme court’s ruling, citing personal religious beliefs.

Davis has become something of a martyr to conservatives, many of whom have rallied behind her defiance of what they see as a decision determined by an “activist court”.

The issue has also split Republican presidential candidates, who are uniformly opposed to same-sex marriage and have vowed to protect religious freedom under the law.

The former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, a Baptist pastor who is eying the evangelical vote, plans to visit Davis in jail on Tuesday and hold a rally outside the detention center.

Huckabee, who is running for president for a second time, tweeted last week that the decision to take Davis into custody “removes all doubts about the criminalization of Christianity in this country”.

Appearing on ABC before Kasich, Huckabee insisted that the supreme court’s ruling was not final, since Congress has not codified same-sex marriage into law. He also rejected a comparison with the supreme court’s 1967 decision to overturn bans on interracial marriage, arguing that congressional action was not needed then because that ruling did not “redefine marriage”.

“You still had a marriage which was a man and a woman, and it was equal protection,” Huckabee said. “What we’ve seen here is the overreach of the judiciary. This, if allowed to stand without any congressional approval, without any kind of enabling legislation … that’s judicial tyranny.”

Kasich said he disagreed with Huckabee.

“The court has spoken, the court has ruled as everyone know,” he said. “I, or most people I know, believe in traditional marriage. But the court has ruled.”

Later on Sunday, a lawyer for Davis said she had filed for an appeal.

“The contempt order itself was unlawful,” Roger Gannam of Liberty Counsel, a Florida-based Christian religious advocacy organization that is backing Davis, told Reuters.

The notice of appeal was filed in the US district court for the eastern district of Kentucky.

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Republican presidential candidates, caught in the midst of a heated primary, have struggled to stake out clear ground regarding Davis.

Former Florida governor Jeb Bush and Florida senator Marco Rubio have looked for some kind of middle ground. While they maintain that the supreme court’s ruling is the law, both have discussed the need for the government to find a way to respect individual beliefs.

Those seeking to position themselves as hardline conservatives, such as Texas senator Ted Cruz and Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal, have said they stand in support of Davis.

South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham and former Hewlett-Packard chief executive Carly Fiorina are the only two Republican candidates to take a more unequivocal position against her actions, stating last week that the clerk must either comply with the law or resign from her post.