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Clerk Prayed Over Decision To Stop Issuing Marriage Licenses

Associated Press

A county clerk in Kentucky says she prayed and fasted for months before deciding to stop issuing marriage licenses once the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.

Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis testified Monday in a federal hearing stemming from a lawsuit brought against her by two gay couples and two straight couples. She says the 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution gives her the right to not issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples because it violates her religious beliefs.

Attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union say Davis' rationale would mean local officials could also deny marriage licenses to people who have been divorced or committed other actions that some consider sinful.

U.S. District Judge David Bunning says he will decide the case by the middle of August.

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