The same judge who ordered Rowan County, Kentucky clerk Kim Davis to jail has now ordered that she be released.
U.S. District Judge David Bunning issued an order which states in part:
After remanding Defendant Davis to the custody of the U.S. Marshal, five of her six deputy clerks stated under oath that they would comply with the Court’s Order and issue marriage licenses to all legally eligible couples.
On September 8, 2015, Plaintiffs filed a Status Report at the Court’s behest. According to the Report, Plaintiffs have obtained marriage licenses from the Rowan County Clerk’s Office. The Court is therefore satisfied that the clerk’s office is fulfilling its obligation to issue marriage licenses to all legally eligible couples.
Davis has been jailed for almost a week following her refusal to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples on religious grounds. Judge Bunning’s order comes on the heels of an emergency request from her attorneys to the governor, asking for accommodations for her religious beliefs.
Davis’s supporters have been outraged since Judge Bunning sent her to jail for contempt of court. But Davis has had the power in her hands to control her fate ever since the beginning of this insanity. She could either issue the marriage licenses, as required by her job description, or she could resign from that job. Why should she receive any accommodation for refusing to fulfill the duties of her position? If you can’t do the job as required, quit. It’s just that simple.
Judge Bunning’s ruling also comes just before the arrival of GOP presidential candidates Mike Huckabee and Ted Cruz, and a scheduled rally in support of Davis. It’s funny how Republicans can criticize Al Sharpton and other civil rights leaders when they go to a “hot spot” in support of a person or cause, but it’s apparently ok when someone on their side does the same thing.
Here’s a report on Davis’s release, from MSNBC:
Featured image via RawStory
