In an interview with the Kentucky Trial Court Review, Rowan County Attorney Cecil Watkins expressed exasperation with Kim Davis, the anti-gay clerk who has refused to issue marriage licenses due to her objections to marriage equality. Davis, Watkins said, “does not represent” the county or its values, and he added that he told Davis that he “will not and cannot support” her in her refusal to obey the Constitution.
Perhaps most significantly, Watkins also says that he learned that Davis’s deputy clerks would issue marriage licenses to all couples legally entitled to one, but that they are too afraid of Davis to do so. If Judge David Bunning, the federal judge who is expected to hold Davis in contempt after a hearing Thursday morning, orders Davis’s deputies to issue marriage licenses, Watkins says, the deputies will comply.
Davis’s refusal to comply with the Constitution has potentially placed her deputies in legal jeopardy. In an order announcing the contempt hearing, Judge Bunning said that Davis “and each of her deputy clerks shall be present at the hearing.” The deputies’ willingness to issue licenses if Davis is no longer an obstacle, however, may save them from sanctions since the primary purpose of the contempt hearing is to pressure Davis’s office to comply with the law.
In an editorial note accompanying its reporting, the Trial Court Review paints a grim picture of life in the Rowan County courthouse after Davis began a symbol of anti-gay defiance. “The takeaways from the Watkins interview are clear. Davis is acting alone in her zealous mission. Her conduct has terrorized not just her staff but everyone that works in the courthouse. And all for a foolish mission aided by out of state charlatan lawyers trying to raise money for their ‘religious liberty’ mission.” -Think Progress
Perhaps most significantly, Watkins also says that he learned that Davis’s deputy clerks would issue marriage licenses to all couples legally entitled to one, but that they are too afraid of Davis to do so. If Judge David Bunning, the federal judge who is expected to hold Davis in contempt after a hearing Thursday morning, orders Davis’s deputies to issue marriage licenses, Watkins says, the deputies will comply.
Davis’s refusal to comply with the Constitution has potentially placed her deputies in legal jeopardy. In an order announcing the contempt hearing, Judge Bunning said that Davis “and each of her deputy clerks shall be present at the hearing.” The deputies’ willingness to issue licenses if Davis is no longer an obstacle, however, may save them from sanctions since the primary purpose of the contempt hearing is to pressure Davis’s office to comply with the law.
In an editorial note accompanying its reporting, the Trial Court Review paints a grim picture of life in the Rowan County courthouse after Davis began a symbol of anti-gay defiance. “The takeaways from the Watkins interview are clear. Davis is acting alone in her zealous mission. Her conduct has terrorized not just her staff but everyone that works in the courthouse. And all for a foolish mission aided by out of state charlatan lawyers trying to raise money for their ‘religious liberty’ mission.” -Think Progress
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