After a five-day stint in jail for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, Kim Davis will return to work as soon as Friday to face another day of reckoning.
The county clerk was locked up last Thursday for the boldest act of resistance by a public official yet to the US Supreme Court ruling in June that effectively legalized same-sex marriage across the nation. Citing "God's authority" and her belief that gay marriage is a sin, Davis stopped issuing all marriage licenses.
The apostolic Christian, now a symbol of strong religious conviction to thousands across the globe, would not say whether she would allow licenses to continue to be issued or try to block them once again, defying a federal court order that could send her back to jail.
Davis walked out of the Carter County Detention Center's front door yesterday, arm-in-arm with her lawyer and with Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee as thousands of supporters cheered and waved white crosses backed by a 150-voice church choir. Some in the crowd sang "Amazing Grace" and "God Bless America."
Davis will take a couple of days off from work to spend with her family and will return to work Friday or Monday, according to an emailed statement from Charla Bansley, a spokeswoman for Liberty Counsel, the Christian law firm representing Davis. The statement did not say whether Davis would allow her office to grant licenses.
At 8 am today, her office at the Rowan County Courthouse opened as scheduled. Three protesters were there, holding signs. Deputy clerk Brian Mason said the office would issue licenses to anyone seeking them. He added that if Davis returns to work and tells him to stop, he'll tell her that he can't obey her order.
In lifting the contempt order against Davis, US District Judge David Bunning said he was satisfied that her deputies were fulfilling their obligation to grant licenses to same-sex couples in her absence. But Bunning's order was clear: If Davis interferes with the issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples upon her return, she could go right back to jail.
