Kim Davis Released From Jail, But Plans To Return To Work And Stand Her Ground
Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who was thrown in jail for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, has officially been released on the order of Judge David Bunning.
According to the Huffington Post, Bunning made the decision to keep Kim Davis behind bars until she either resigned her position as clerk or agreed to fulfill the duties of her job by providing gay couples with marriage licenses. After five or six of the deputies working under Kim Davis started granting marriage licenses to same-sex couples, Bunning agreed to let Davis go–but only on the condition that she can not interfere with the deputies who have begun to comply with federal law. If Kim Davis tries to stop the clerk’s office from providing the licenses, she could end up back behind bars.
This seems like a possibility based on the response given by her lawyer Mat Staver when asked if Kim Davis planned to comply with the judge’s orders.
“[Kim Davis] cannot and will not violate her conscience,” he said. “She loves God, she loves people, she loves her work, and she will not betray any of those three.”
Upon her release, Kim Davis was met by a large group of supporters carrying signs bearing religious symbols and messages like “Supreme Court = The new ISIS of America.” The Kentucky clerk reportedly wept in the arms of her lawyer, grateful for the overwhelming support.
Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee continued to support Kim Davis and her religious conviction. Having publicly defended the clerk and called her on the phone while in jail, Huckabee also decided to show up for her release.
“Kim Davis is free!” he shouted to the supporters.
Mike Huckabee provided an introduction before Kim Davis herself emerged to speak to the crowd while the song “Eye of the Tiger” played over the loudspeakers.
“I just want to give God the glory,” she told the group, according to USA Today.“We serve a living God who knows exactly where each and every one of us is. Just keep on pressing, don’t let down. Because he is here.”
Despite the trouble her defiance has caused her so far, Kim Davis is planning to return to work this week and refuses to resign. It also seems as though Davis may continue to deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples, because she and her lawyer are still asking for her personal authority to be exempt from the federal mandate.
“She cannot allow her name to be associated with something that conflicts with God’s definition of marriage,” Staver said.
Do you think Kim Davis should have been released from jail?
[Image credit: Ty Wright / Getty Images]
