Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who refused to issue licenses for gay marriage, is being released from jail and her charges of contempt of court have been lifted — with one important condition.
U.S. District Judge David Bunning, Davis issued the order before 1 pm Tuesday, but if Davis stands in the way of gay couples getting their marriage licenses she could find herself right back in trouble, WDRB reported.
Bunning said Davis “shall be released from the custody of the U.S. Marshal” and “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.”
“If Defendant Davis should interfere in any way with their issuance, that will be considered a violation of this order and appropriate sanctions will be considered.”
The order came shortly before a rally to support Davis was set to begin, according to WDRB.
The decision comes just hours before a rally was expected to be held outside the Carter County Jail where she has been held from the past five days. Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee was expected to speak on her behalf, alongside Kentucky gubernatorial candidate Matt Bevin.
U.S. Senator Ted Cruz — also a Republican presidential contender — was expected to visit Davis, but not attend the rally.
More information from Bunnings order:
“On September 8, 2015, Plaintiffs file a Status Report at the Court’s behest,” the judge’s order states. “According to the Report, Plaintiffs have obtained marriage licenses from the Rowan County Clerk’s. The Court is therefore satisfied that the Rowan County Clerk’s Office is fulfilling its obligation to issue marriage licenses to all legally eligible couples, consistent with the U.S. Supreme Court’s holding in Obergefell and this Court’s August 12, 2015 Order. For these reasons, the Court’s prior contempt sanction against Defendant Davis is hereby lifted.”
If the court was so satisfied with the fact that licenses were issued to gay couples and that was all it took to justify the release of Davis, then why didn’t that happen days ago? Why did they wait until just before Conservative superstars were getting ready to arrive? Ted Cruz was also going to visit Kim Davis. Does anyone else sense this was orchestrated by Judge Bunning and the governor? I notice they are threatening Davis with sanctions just like Iran. How very revealing. Davis hasn’t been released yet, so this is developing. It is still a constitutional issue as well as a Christian issue and this isn’t going away. I imagine, neither is Kim Davis.