News (USA)

Governor: Marriage licenses in Kentucky county are valid

Governor: Marriage licenses in Kentucky county are valid

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky’s outgoing Democratic governor Steve Beshear says the state will recognize the marriage licenses that county clerk Kim Davis altered because of her religious beliefs.

Davis, the clerk in Rowan County, believes it would be a sin for her to issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple. She believes it so fervently that she spent five days in jail earlier this year for refusing to obey a federal judge who ordered her to issue the licenses. Her office issued the licenses in her absence. When Davis got out of jail, she changed the licenses to remove her name and the name of the county.

The American Civil Liberties Union protested and asked a federal judge to make Davis reissue the licenses. In a court filing last week, Beshear told the judge he believes the licenses are valid.

© 2015, Associated Press, All Rights Reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Don't forget to share:

Support vital LGBTQ+ journalism

Reader contributions help keep LGBTQ Nation free, so that queer people get the news they need, with stories that mainstream media often leaves out. Can you contribute today?

Cancel anytime · Proudly LGBTQ+ owned and operated

Do you think Tina Fey’s gay characters are too “effeminate” and “stereotypical”?

Previous article

Ireland celebrates 1st gay marriages after May referendum

Next article