Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who was jailed for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, returned to work on Monday (Sep. 14), remaining defiant in her stance. She said those that work under her in the Rowan County clerk’s office don’t have the authority to hand out marriage licenses, but she won’t take action against them if they continue to do so, as they did while she was absent.
“Effective immediately, and until an accommodation is provided by those with the authority to provide it, any marriage license issued by my office will not be issued or authorized by me,” Davis said in a statement, continuing to call on authorities to consider her religious beliefs, which she says prevent her from condoning same-sex marriage.
Davis won’t stand in the way of her deputies issuing licenses, but she does not want her name or title on the documents, which must instead say they were made out under a federal court’s order. It is unclear whether that makes them legally invalid.
A federal judge sent Davis to jail for contempt of court on Sept. 3, after she refused to comply with his order to issue same-sex marriage licenses in accordance a US Supreme Court ruling in June.