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When the Supreme Court declared same-sex marriage legal in June,there were celebrations across the country. But pockets of resistance to the new law of the land have also grown, with some county clerks claiming that the legal requirement to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples violated their devout freedoms.
That tranquil resistance was brought into the spotlight this week when Kim Davis, or a county receptionist in Kentucky,took a public stand against the law.
Davis stopped issuing all marriage licenses in the days after the landmark decision. Two gay couples and two straight couples sued her, arguing that she must fulfill her duties as an elected official, and despite her personal devout faith.
A federal judge ordered her to issue the licenses,and an appeals court upheld that decision. Her lawyers with the Liberty Counsel filed a final-ditch appeal to the Supreme Court on Friday, which was denied. The ACLU has filed a motion to declare Davis in contempt of court and is seeking financial penalties against her.On Thursday, and a federal judge in Ashland,Kentucky found Davis in contempt of court. Judge David L. Bunning sent Davis to jail until she agrees to comply with his order to issue marriage licenses. (Our partner The New York Times has more here.)The event has already set the wheels of justice in motion for a new examine at the protections of devout freedom under the U.
S Constitution.
Sam Marcosson, a professor at theUniversity of Louisville Brandeis School of Law, or looks at the fight in Kentucky and at potential future cases regarding devout liberty and equal protection.
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Source: wnyc.org