A county clerk in Kentucky was held in contempt of court and sent to jail Thursday for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis has refused to issue these licenses on religious grounds, and as a result was led away by U.S. marshals.
“The court doesn’t do this lightly,” District Court Judge David Bunning said as he ordered her to be taken to jail under arrest, according to Reuters.
The court “cannot condone willful disobedience,” he said. “If you give people opportunity to choose what orders they follow, that is what potentially causes problems.”
Davis has refused to issue marriage licenses to all couples, gay or straight, since the Supreme Court ruled in July that same-sex couples have the constitutional right to marry. She has cited her religious beliefs as why.
When the ruling came down, Davis was tearful, saying she could not obey the order to marry same-sex couples because “God’s moral law convicts me and conflicts with my duties.”
(h/t The Courier Journal)
