Bobby Jindal is the latest Republican presidential candidate to support the Kentucky county clerk who was jailed for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The Louisiana governor says Kim Davis "shouldn't have to give up her Christian beliefs simply because she's a clerk of court.'' Jindal said if he's elected president, he'll issue an executive order protecting the religious rights of those who believe marriage is the union of a man and a woman.
When asked whether jailing was appropriate for Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis, Dr. Ben Carson said, “Well jail seems a little extreme. I think what we need to look at is how do we stop this kind of thing from being a continuation. When the Supreme Court made its decision anyone should have known that this kind of thing was going to occur, and it’s going to continue to escalate." He continued, “And Congress now has a responsibility to step up to the plate and enact legislation that will protect the First Amendment rights of all Americans. That’s the reason that we have divided government. When one branch does something that tilts the balance, the other branches need to pitch in and correct the situation. This is a serious problem.”
PORTLAND, Ore. — A second Oregon judge says he is no longer performing weddings after a federal judge spoke out against the state's ban on same-sex "marriage" last year. Washington County Judge Thomas Kohl says he stopped performing weddings as a judge last summer for faith-based reasons. Last week Marion County Circuit Judge Vance Day publicly acknowledged that he stopped performing weddings due to religious beliefs on "gay marriage." Day is facing an ethics investigation due to that decision.
Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee said Wednesday that he would be forced to accept same-sex "marriage" as legal if the federal government enacted a law allowing it. “If they want to come out from their cowardice to address this issue and they want to pass a law that says same-sex marriage is okay…then we all have to accept that same sex marriage is the law of the land,” he told Joe Scarborough on Morning Joe. But then he added, “Maybe I would disobey. Maybe I would pay the penalty for it.”
Kim Davis’s deputy clerks have been busy since their boss was hauled to jail, issuing 10 marriage licenses, including seven to same-sex couples, her employee Brian Mason said on Wednesday. And if Davis tells him to stop after she returns to work, Mason said he’ll tell her he can’t obey her, and instead must follow a federal judge’s order to continue issuing licenses to same-sex couples.
RALEIGH, North Carolina — Thirty-two of North Carolina’s 670 magistrates have refused to perform same-sex “marriages”—and there’s nothing anyone can do about it—yet. In June, North Carolina became one of two states to create a law exempting magistrates, deeds workers, and others from having to perform marriage ceremonies if they have religious objections. The law then exempts such workers from any marriage ceremonies for a period of six months once they let their superiors know of their decision. Homosexual activist groups are urging same-sex couples to sue the state to "overturn" the law. No lawsuits have yet been filed.
MOREHEAD, Ky. — After spending five days in jail for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis will return to work as soon as Friday. The apostolic Christian, now a symbol of strong religious conviction to thousands across the globe, would not say whether she would allow licenses to continue to be issued or try to block them once again, defying a federal court order that could send her back to jail.
GRAYSON, Ky. — Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who was jailed last week after she defied a court’s order that she issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, was ordered released on Tuesday. In a two-page order issued Tuesday, the judge who sent her to jail, David L. Bunning of Federal District Court, said he would release Ms. Davis because he was satisfied that her office was “fulfilling its obligation to issue marriage licenses to all legally eligible couples.” Judge Bunning ordered that Ms. Davis “shall not interfere in any way, directly or indirectly, with the efforts of her deputy clerks to issue marriage licenses to all legally eligible couples.” He said any such action would be regarded as “a violation” of his release order.
John Kasich, who "opposes gay marriage," thinks a Kentucky clerk should issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. "She's not running a church. I wouldn't force this on a church, but in terms of her responsibility, I think she has to comply," said Kasich, Ohio governor and a GOP presidential candidate. He doesn't think she should sit in jail, he said, but "I think she should follow the law."
This afternoon at 3 PM ET, Mike Huckabee will hold a rally in support of Kim Davis at the Carter County Detention Center in Grayson, Kentucky. Huckabee also created and signed a petition asking that Davis be released from jail. The petition reads, "Dear President Obama, Attorney General Lynch, & Judge Bunning: Immediately release Kim Davis from federal custody. Exercising Religious Liberty should never be a crime in America. This is a direct attack on our God-given, constitutional rights."
A Navy chaplain accused of failing to show “tolerance and respect” toward homosexual sailors has been cleared of all wrongdoing and will not be removed from the military. “I am relieved the Navy sided with me,” Lt. Cmdr. Wes Modder said.
The Kentucky county clerk jailed for refusing to comply with a Supreme Court decision and issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples was fighting "judicial tyranny," former Arkansas governor and Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee said on ABC's "This Week." Huckabee has defended Kim Davis, the Rowan County Clerk who said she would not follow a federal judge's orders to comply with the Supreme Court's landmark same-sex "marriage" ruling, and said she is upholding state law. He said he believes the ruling is unconstitutional and has called for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex "marriages."
Friday, September 4, 2015, Alabama Christians gathered at the Alabama Supreme Court to pray for Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis, the AL Supreme Court, Governor Bentley, the pastors and churches of America, the State of Alabama and the Nation.
As Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis began her third day as an inmate at the Carter County Detention Center on Saturday, having chosen indefinite imprisonment over issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, around 300 people gathered on the lawn outside. "She won't bow, I promise you," Davis' husband, Joe, told the crowd. "She sends her love to each and every one of you all. And this is what she said, 'All is well. Tell them to hold their head high because I am.'"
SALEM, Ore. — Marion County Judge Vance Day is being investigated by a judicial fitness commission in part over his refusal to perform same-sex marriages on religious grounds, a spokesman for the judge said. When a federal court ruling in May 2014 claimed to make same-sex "marriage" legal in Oregon, Day instructed his staff to refer same-sex couples looking to "marry" to other judges, spokesman Patrick Korten said Friday.
On Friday night, September 4th, prayer for Jailed Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis, the Alabama Supreme Court, Alabama, and the Nation will be held on the front stairs of the Alabama Supreme Court building (300 Dexter Avenue, Montgomery 36104) from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land." (II Chronicles 7:14)
Republican front-runner Donald Trump said Friday that he wished a Kentucky county clerk, Kim Davis, was not jailed for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, but he added that the Supreme Court has ruled and it is "the law of the land." "You have to go with it. The decision's been made, and that is the law of the land," he said Friday on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."
A second couple, Tim Long and Michael Long, obtained a marriage license from Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis' office Friday morning. William Smith and James Yates obtained a marriage license in Rowan County from Deputy Clerk Brian Mason around 8:15 a.m. Friday.
MOREHEAD, Ky. — When the Rowan County Courthouse opened for business Friday, deputy clerk Brian Mason was waiting at the front counter, behind a sign that read: “Marriage License Deputy.” James Yates and William Smith Jr. entered the media-filled courthouse shortly after 8 and promptly began the process of applying for a marriage license. Meanwhile, Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis' husband said that his wife is ready to remain in jail for as long as necessary, and that she will not resign from her position.
On Friday night, September 4th, prayer for Jailed Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis, the Alabama Supreme Court, Alabama, and the Nation will be held on the front stairs of the Alabama Supreme Court building (300 Dexter Avenue, Montgomery 36104) from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
10:30 A.M. — Hundreds of supporters filled the street in front of the federal courthouse in Ashland as they waited for a hearing to start on the "gay marriage" case in Kentucky. The demonstrators outside waved signs, chanted and sang hymns as they waited for Rowan Country Clerk Kim Davis to arrive. The hearing was scheduled to start at 11:00 A.M. EDT.
Leaders of an Atlanta museum want the space focused on modern and historic civil rights to contribute to a national push to ensure "LGBT rights," particularly in southern states. Wednesday marked the formal launch of the LGBT Institute, housed at the Center for Civil and Human Rights less than 15 months after the museum opened.
The Republican president of the Kentucky state Senate has asked a federal judge to withhold his ruling ordering a county clerk to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Republican Senate President Robert Stivers says U.S. District Judge David Bunning needs to give the state legislature time to pass a law that would exempt Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis from having to issue marriage licenses. The state legislature is not in session and won't be until January. Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear has refused to call for a special session, arguing it would waste taxpayer money for an issue that only affects one clerk.
A Kentucky clerk who is coming under increased pressure after refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples is getting support from the Montgomery, Alabama-based Foundation for Moral Law. Clerk Kim Davis is making headlines after a months-long legal battle that has left her in direct defiance of federal court orders to issue the licenses.
The Republican presidential field is showing a split over what to do with Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis, who's scheduled to appear in court on Thursday for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in Kentucky against the order of a federal judge. A handful candidates weighed in on Tuesday and Wednesday, with some expressing outspoken support for Davis while others were more critical of her actions.