Kentucky clerk mandated to issue same-sex marriage licenses; refuses

ROWAN COUNTY, Ky., Aug. 27 (UPI) -- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth District ruled Wednesday against Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis over her refusal to issue licenses to same-sex couples.

Davis has refused to issue licenses to any couple until the matter of same-sex couples is resolved in her perspective. She claims that it is within her First Amendment rights to deny licenses to same-sex couples for religious reasons.

Davis stands in conflict with the Supreme Court's June ruling that same-sex marriage is constitutionally protected. She has also been ordered to grant licenses by Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear but has rejected the order.

The clerk was sued in July by four couples who were denied licenses at her office. A federal district judge in her state had previously ordered her to issue the licenses but allowed her time to appeal. Wednesday's ruling negates the appeal.

Davis has taken her case to court multiple times and is now holding out for a Supreme Court hearing.

The ACLU has said that Davis has acted maliciously in her refusal to produce licenses, adding that she has displayed a disregard for the rights of the plaintiffs who sued her.

Davis has said that she will stand firmly by her decision, citing her conscience's inability to allow her to issue such licenses. She says God "ordained marriage from the very foundation of this world to be between a man and a woman."