Governor Steve Beshear's lawyers are using the words "absurd," ''forlorn" and "obtuse" to describe the legal arguments a county clerk has used to avoid issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Rowan County clerk Kim Davis filed a lawsuit against the governor, alleging he violated her religious freedom by asking clerks to comply with the U.S. Supreme Court's decision that effectively legalized gay marriage across the nation. Beshear reiterated a request Tuesday that a judge toss the suit.
Davis spent five days in jail for defying a series of federal court orders to issue the licenses.
She has blamed Beshear for her legal woes, alleging that he "commandeered" her office when he instructed clerks to follow the court's decision.
Beshear's lawyer, Palmer G. Vance, described Davis' continued legal battle as a "meritless assault on the rule of law."