Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee said he would go to jail in the place of Kentucky clerk Kim Davis, if necessary.
Davis was held in jail in contempt for refusing to grant marriage licenses to couples in her county after the Supreme Court recently ruled that same-sex marriage is legal in all 50 states. Davis refused, citing her religious faith as reason for why she could not morally provide same-sex marriage licenses with her name on it.
Huckabee has seized Davis’ cause as a threat to religious liberty in the United States and held a rally to support her on Tuesday afternoon, outside the courthouse where she was held. The evangelical Christian has referred to Davis as a woman of “strong faith and conviction” and got the hashtag “#ImwithKim” to trend on Twitter.
“Let Kim go, but if you have to put someone in jail, I volunteer to go. Let me go. Lock me up if you think that’s how freedom is best served,” Huckabee said to the crowd. “Because folks, I am willing to spend the next eight years in the White House leading in this country. But I want you to know I’m willing to spend the next eight years in jail, but I’m not willing to spend the next years in tyranny under people who think they can take our freedom and conscience away.”
The Kentucky clerk was ordered to jail last Thursday, but released prior to the rally. She plans to return to work next week, under the court-ordered condition that she does not deny marriage certificates to same-sex couples.
After her release, Davis took to the stage, obviously emotional and overwhelmed by the support she was receiving.
“Thank you all so much. I love you all so very much,” she said. “I just want to give God the glory. His people have rallied, and you are a strong people.”
