Kim Davis, the Rowan County, Kentucky clerk who gained national attention by refusing to grant same-sex couple’s marriage licences, has been released from jail.
Davis was reprimanded by U.S. District Judge David Bunning on Sept. 3 after she again refused to follow court orders to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Davis, a born-again Apostolic Christian, insisted that god’s authority trumps the U.S. court system.
However, on Friday, deputy clerks in the Rowan County office began issuing licenses to same-sex couples without Davis present. That pleased Bunning, who decided on Tuesday that Davis should be released.
“After remanding Defendant Davis to the custody of the U.S. Marshal, five of her six deputy clerks stated under oath that they would comply with the Court’s Order and issue marriage licenses to all legally eligible couples,” Bunning wrote in an order, reports ABC News. Bunning later wrote that the court is “satisfied that the clerk's office is fulfilling its obligation to issue marriage licenses to all legally eligible couples.”
In June, the Supreme Court ruled same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states. Davis never issued a license to a same-sex couple and she continued to seek court approval to deny the licenses based on her religious beliefs. On Sept. 1, the Supreme Court declined to overturn prior rulings that said she had to issue the licenses.
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