MOREHEAD, Ky. (AP) — The latest on the county clerk in Kentucky who has refused to issue marriage licenses since the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage (all times local):
12:35 p.m.
A third gay couple has received a marriage license in Rowan County as a defiant clerk sits in jail over her refusal to issue the licenses.
April Miller held her marriage license over her head Friday and shrieked “We got it!” as Karen Roberts, her partner of 11 years, let out a joyous whoop.
The couple was among those that sued county clerk Kim Davis over her refusal. Roberts says she doesn’t want to be a hero, “just want to be a woman who got a marriage license today.”
The couple said they plan to get married soon.
___
11:45 a.m.
Attorneys for the jailed county clerk in Kentucky say they will hold a news conference Friday afternoon after meeting with Kim Davis.
Mat Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel, said they will meet with Davis and then update the media about 2:30 p.m. Davis was sent to jail Thursday for contempt after refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay couples.
There’s no sign Davis is getting out of jail soon. Her husband says she will stay there as long as it takes, and the federal judge who sent her there has indicated she would be there at least a week.
Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee plans to meet with her in jail next week.
___
11:25 a.m.
As the county clerk, Kim Davis’ signature usually appears on marriage licenses, but since she is jailed, her deputy clerks are handing out licenses with no signature.
The Rowan County attorney and lawyers for the gay couples who have sued to get marriage licenses say they are legal and valid despite the lack of a signature.
Davis was jailed Thursday by U.S. District Judge David Bunning because she refuses to issue licenses to gay couples. Bunning was asked during Davis’ contempt hearing Thursday about the licenses being valid if Davis refuses to authorize them. He said it was up to the gay couples to take that chance.
___
10:45 a.m.
Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee says he plans to meet with the Kentucky clerk who has been jailed because she refuses to issue marriage licenses to gay couples.
Huckabee said Friday that he would meet with Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis next week and hold a rally in support of her. Davis was held in contempt and sent to jail Thursday by U.S. District Judge David Bunning.
Davis says her religious beliefs don’t allow her to endorse gay marriage. As she was in jail Friday, one of her deputy clerks handed out two licenses to gay couples.
___
9:35 a.m.
A second gay couple has arrived at a Kentucky clerk’s office to apply for a marriage license.
Timothy and Michael Long arrived Friday morning, about an hour after another gay couple was issued a license by a deputy clerk.
The clerk who oversees the Rowan County clerk’s office, Kim Davis, remained jailed after defying several court orders directing her to issue the licenses. Davis refused to issue any marriage licenses, citing her Christian beliefs and opposition to gay marriage.
When the couple got inside the office Friday, a man harassed them and said, “More sodomites getting married?” The couple did not respond, and a worker told the man to leave.
___
9:15 a.m.
Dozens of protesters have gathered outside a Kentucky clerk’s office where a gay couple has been issued a marriage license after a lengthy fight with a clerk who had long refused to grant the licenses.
One group cheered on the gay couple who got the license, while the other group preached and supported the clerk on Friday. Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis has refused to issue the licenses, citing her Christian religion and belief that gay marriage is immoral.
In a heated exchange, supporters of Davis yelled “I’m telling you the truth because I love you” while opponents yelled back that “Jesus loves everyone.”
Davis remained jailed after a federal judge held her in contempt for defying several court orders. Her husband says she doesn’t plan to resign and will not issue the licenses.
___
8:15 a.m.
A gay couple walked out of a Kentucky clerk’s office with a marriage license, hours after the county’s defiant clerk was hauled to jail for refusing to license same-sex marriages.
William Smith Jr. and James Yates, a couple for nearly a decade, were the first to receive a marriage license Friday morning in Rowan County, ending a months-long standoff.
Clerk Kim Davis has cited “God’s authority” and refused to issue marriage licenses since the Supreme Court effectively legalized gay marriage in June. She defied a series of court orders.
Deputy clerk Brian Mason issued the license Friday morning, congratulating the couple and shaking their hands as he smiled. The couple embraced and cried.
___
8:10 a.m.
A couple has arrived at a county clerk’s office in Kentucky to obtain a marriage license.
James Yates and William Smith Jr. arrived Friday morning in Rowan County holding hands. They then approached deputy clerk Brian Mason to fill out an application.
Rowan County clerk Kim Davis remains jailed after defying several court orders and refusing to issue marriage licenses, citing her opposition to gay marriage.
Five of Davis’ deputy clerks said they would obey U.S. District Judge David Bunning’s ruling and issue marriage licenses Friday morning. Bunning says Davis could remain in jail for at least a week as he gives her deputies time to comply with his order.
___
8:05 a.m.
A county clerk’s office in Kentucky has opened as its clerk remains jailed, though no couples have arrived yet to obtain a marriage license.
A throng of reporters was inside the Rowan County clerk’s office Friday morning. But when a sheriff’s deputy inside asked if anyone was there to get a license, no one answered. A line had been designated especially for marriage licenses.
Supporters held signs saying “no shenanigans,” a reference to a judge’s warning a day earlier to a deputy clerk, Nathan Davis, the son of jailed clerk Kim Davis.
Five of Davis’ deputy clerks said they would obey U.S. District Judge David Bunning’s ruling and issue marriage licenses Friday morning. Bunning says Davis could remain in jail for at least a week as he gives her deputies time to comply with his order.
___
7:45 a.m.
The husband of a Kentucky court clerk jailed for refusing to grant marriage licenses to gay couples says she won’t resign and will stay in jail for as long as it takes.
Speaking to reporters Friday morning, Joe Davis, the husband of Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis, said she’s in good spirits after spending the night in jail.
A federal district court judge jailed Kim Davis on Thursday for refusing to obey his order that she issue marriage licenses to gay couples. Davis, an Apostolic Christian, believes gay marriage is a sin.
But five of the six deputy clerks who work for Davis said they will issue the marriage licenses Friday. Joe Davis said he took the deputies out to dinner Thursday night and told them he was proud of them. He said they are only issuing the licenses because the judge is forcing them.
___
4:25 a.m.
Same-sex couples will return to the Rowan County Courthouse in Kentucky on Friday for the fifth time since June to ask for a marriage license.
Only this time, Kim Davis won’t be there to stop them. The county clerk will be in a Carter County jail cell for refusing to obey a judge’s order that she issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Davis said her Christian beliefs prevent her from issuing the licenses because she believes gay marriage is a sin.
Five of Davis’ deputy clerks said they would obey U.S. District Judge David Bunning’s ruling and issue marriage licenses Friday morning. Bunning says Davis could remain in jail for at least a week as he gives her deputies time to comply with his order.
