Kentucky county clerk sued over marriage licenses

Phillip M. Bailey | The (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky filed a lawsuit Thursday on behalf of four couples who were denied marriage licenses by the Rowan County clerk in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision legalizing same-sex marriages.

Democrat Kim Davis is among a handful of clerks who have refused to grant licenses to any couples in order to avoid handing them out to gays and lesbians. The suit alleges four couples in Rowan — two same-sex and two straight — who have sought marriage licenses are having their 14th Amendment rights violated as a result.

"We certainly respect the religious beliefs and whatever conscientious choices these clerks make, but it can't infringe on their job duties and it can't infringe on the constitutional rights of the citizens that they're there to serve," said attorney Dan Canon, one of the lawyers who is representing the four couples.

Davis could not be reached for comment, but in previous interviews with The Courier-Journal she said her "deep religious convictions" forbid her from giving out licenses to same-sex couples and that she decided not to issue them to any couples in the county. She also has suggested those seeking a marriage license obtain one in a neighboring county.

The couples named in the suit filed by the ACLU are April Miller and Karen Roberts; Shantel Burke and Stephen Napier; Jody Fernandez and Kevin Holloway; and L. Aaron Skaggs and Barry W. Spartman.

"We have been citizens of Rowan County since the beginning of our relationship and love being members of this community," Skaggs said in a statement. "So it only makes sense that we would want and should be granted our right to be recognized as a loving couple having freedom to marry here at home."

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, a Democrat, had defended the state's ban on same-sex marriage, but after the high court's ruling on June 26, he issued an executive order telling all state agencies and clerks to comply with it.

Canon said that by denying marriage licenses to all couples, county clerks are also discriminating against straight residents seeking to wed.

"These clerks are flagrantly disobeying not only the opinion of the Supreme Court, but also the executive order issued by Steve Beshear," he said.