Court proceedings will resume next week in the case of Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis, who has refused to issue marriage licenses following the Supreme Court’s decision legalizing same-sex unions in June. The hearing was put on pause Monday because Davis’s lawyers said she had not received official notification of the lawsuit.
The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a class action suit against Davis on behalf of two gay couples and two straight couples. ACLU cooperating attorney Dan Canon tells WUKY the Supreme Court and Governor Steve Beshear have weighed in on the issue and he expects the state will ultimately force Davis to grant the licenses.
"Obviously nobody needs to be forcibly removed from an elected office simply because of his or her personal beliefs, but they do have to do their job," he says.
Davis argues approving the licenses violates her deeply-held religious convictions – and a number of state lawmakers agree.
Lexington Rep. Stan Lee and a House colleague have prefiled legislation that would carve out a legal exception for clerks who oppose same-sex unions on religious grounds.
