We will continue to stand with Kim Davis and others who assert their conscience. Kim joins a long list of people who were imprisoned for their conscience
Grayson, KY - Mat Staver told press outside the Carter County Detention Center that he spoke with Kim Davis this afternoon, and she is in good spirits. Kim is very touched by all the support she feels from people literally around the world. Her last words before leaving were, "All is well."
"Despite being held as a prisoner for her religious beliefs, her conscience remains unshackled. We discussed her options going forward. We will challenge Judge Bunning's contempt order and her unlawful confinement," Staver said. "Kim is resolute in her decision to challenge the issuance of any marriage certificate bearing her name without her authority."
Many of you have asked to speak with Kim. Up to this point, she has shied away from media interviews. Let me take a few moments to give you a glimpse of the woman behind the bars:
10 Facts You Should Know About Jailed Clerk Kim Davis
Davis only asked that the Kentucky marriage license forms be changed so her name would not appear on them. She would record any license without her name affixed. Marriage licenses remain in county records permanently. Davis said, "I never imagined a day like this would come, where I would be asked to violate a central teaching of Scripture and of Jesus Himself regarding marriage. To issue a marriage license which conflicts with God's definition of marriage, with my name affixed to the certificate, would violate my conscience."
Before the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in Obergefell on June 26, 2015, 57 clerks, including Davis, wrote a letter to Kentucky legislators during the regular session, pleading with them to "get a bill on the floor to help protect clerks" who had a religious objection to authorizing the licenses. The Kentucky Clerks Association also recommend that the names of clerks be removed from the forms.
Davis was elected County Clerk as a democrat in November 2014 and took office in January 2015, after her mother retired from the position. Before January, Davis was a Deputy Clerk for 27 years.
Kim Davis became a Christian at a church service she attended to honor the dying wish of her mother-in-law, who passed away on a Sunday morning. Davis said, "Following the death of my godly mother-in-law over four years ago, I went to church to fulfill her dying wish. There I heard a message of grace and forgiveness and surrendered my life to Jesus Christ."
Davis, who is married to one of the 3 men she married and divorced, admits she was a sinner before she accepted Jesus Christ four years ago and changed her life.
Kim Davis does not hate homosexuals or lesbians, as she explained: "I have no animosity toward anyone and harbor no ill will. To me this has never been a gay or lesbian issue. It is about marriage and God's Word. It is a matter of religious liberty...."
Davis is a professing Christian who, before incarceration, attended church worship services multiple times per week and held a weekly Bible study with women at a local jail.
As elected officials, Kentucky Clerks can only be removed from office if impeached by the Kentucky House of Representatives and convicted by the Senate. The Kentucky General Assembly does not meet until January 2016.
The Supreme Court did not change Kentucky's marriage law or its forms, but invalidated the legislation limiting marriage to opposite sex couples. It is up to each state's legislature to conform the law to the opinion. Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers filed a brief in Davis's case, pointing out to the judge: "The Supreme Court ruling has completely obliterated the definition of marriage and the process for obtaining a marriage license in Kentucky. The General Assembly will be compelled to amend many sections of Kentucky law, not just for the issuance of marriage licenses, to comply with the recent Supreme Court decision." The brief pointed out that the Governor can call a special session of the legislature, or he could issue an executive order about the licenses to later be codified by the legislature during the 2016 session. A judge is not a super-legislature that can rewrite the law.
Davis is being represented at no charge by attorneys with Liberty Counsel, an international nonprofit litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family. Liberty Counsel was founded in 1989 and has offices in Florida, Virginia and Washington, D.C., an outreach in Israel, and hundreds of advocates around the world.
We will continue to stand with Kim Davis and others who assert their conscience. Kim joins a long list of people who were imprisoned for their conscience. People who today we admire like Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, Jan Huss, John Bunyan, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and more. Each had their own cause, but they all share the same resolve not to violate their conscience.
Liberty Counsel is an international nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics.
