The lawyer for Kim Davis, a county clerk who has refused to issue marriage licenses for same-sex couples, said Sunday that he has appealed her contempt order to be held in jail.
Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis was jailed on Thursday for refusing to issue same sex-marriage licenses as ruled by the orders of U.S. District Judge David Bunning. He had ordered Davis in August to issue the licenses.
Despite the U.S. Supreme Court's June decision to legalize same-sex marriage, Davis has said she will not issue licenses to same-sex couples because of religious reasons and that she has "God's authority."
"The contempt order itself was unlawful," Roger Gannam, a lawyer for Davis, told Reuters. Gannam is an attorney with Florida's Christian firm the Liberty Counsel, which has vowed to help Davis with her legal fight.
The three-page motion released Sunday amended Davis' earlier appeal of the judge's order:
In a Sunday court filing, Kim Davis notified the court she is appealing the contempt order & clarified injunction:
After she was sent to jail last week, Davis' deputy clerks started to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples on Friday. There is some question about the validity of the licenses, since they do not have Davis' name on them and Kentucky law requires marriage licenses to be issued under the authority of the elected county clerk.
Bunning said Davis could be released from jail if she agreed to issue licenses or promised not to interfere with her deputy clerks who are issuing licenses, but she refused.
