In appeal, jailed clerk says governor let her down

UPDATE: In an emergency motion filed today, attorneys for Kim Davis accused Kentucky Gov. Steven Beshear of ignoring her pleas that he protect her religious freedom. The motion, filed with the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, expands on the notice of appeal Davis filed over the weekend.

“In an assault upon her individual liberty and dignity, Davis currently sits incarcerated in the Carter County Detention Center, in significant part, because Gov. Beshear has refused to take elementary steps to accommodate Davis’ undisputed, sincerely-held religious beliefs about marriage,” the motion states. “These less restrictive solutions are readily available and easily accomplished by Gov. Beshear and the [Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives], the state agency responsible for designing the revised marriage form at issue in this litigation.”

Davis has asked Beshear to provide a way for same-sex couples to receive marriage licenses without her having to sign off on them. “Davis is not claiming a substantial burden on her religious freedom if someone else authorizes and approves a [same-sex marriage] license devoid of her name,” the motion states.

In absence of action from Beshear, Davis’ appeal asks the court to order the governor to make one of the accommodations she has suggested, such as allowing a clerk from a neighboring county to be listed on same-sex marriage licenses.

OUR EARLIER STORY (11:27 a.m.): Attorneys for Rowan County, Ky., clerk Kim Davis filed a notice of appeal Sunday to a judge’s decision to put her in jail for refusing to compromise her Christian beliefs and issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

“While most Americans are enjoying the extended holiday weekend with family and friends, Kim Davis sits in isolation for the fourth day in jail,” Mat Staver, one of Davis’ attorneys, said in a statement yesterday. “We are working through the holiday to secure Kim's freedom.”

Staver called the hearing that found Davis in contempt “a charade,” saying Bunning had his mind made up before the hearing began.

U.S. District Judge David Bunning ruled on Thursday that Davis was in contempt of court for disobeying his order to issue marriage licenses and sent her to jail. Deputy clerks in Rowan County proceeded to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples on Friday. But Staver said the marriage licenses issued Friday are “not worth the paper they are written on” because Davis did not authorize them. But Rowan County Attorney Cecil Watkins said the licenses are valid, while Bunning said he did not know if the licenses were valid but ordered them issued anyway.

Kentucky law requires marriage licenses be issued under the authority of the elected county clerk. And Davis has said she will not issue marriage licenses until the state legislature changes the law allowing licenses to be issued under someone else’s authority.

The state legislature is not scheduled to meet again until January and Democratic Gov. Steven Beshear has refused to call a special session. Davis has said she would not resign, and as an elected official the only way she could lose her job is to lose an election or have the state legislature impeach her.

“She’s not going to resign, she’s not going to sacrifice her conscience, so she’s doing what Martin Luther King Jr. wrote about in his ‘Letter from the Birmingham Jail,’ which is to pay the consequences for her decision,” Staver said.

On Saturday, about 300 people rallied in support of Davis at the Carter County Detention Center in Grayson, Ky., where she is being held. Another rally is scheduled for Tuesday, with Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee scheduled to appear.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.