By Filip Teovanovic
Even though marriage equality was legalized across the United States in July last year, infamous Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in Rowan County.
Davis defended her behavior by citing her Christian beliefs as she made headlines around the world.
Now a federal judge has ruled that Davis has relented and any eligible same-sex couple that gets married in Rowan County, Kentucky will have a valid marriage license.
After spending five days in jail for disobeying the Supreme Court back in September 2015, Davis began issuing marriage licenses to homosexual couples by simply asking her deputies to authorise the marriage forms, a move supported by United States District federal Judge David Bunning.
But the American Civil Liberties Union, representing all the affected couples that sued Davis, has expressed concern about the validity of the documents authorised by the deputies.
“We’re heartened by Judge Bunning’s statement that couples who received altered marriage licenses will likely have those licenses honored in the future, but unfortunately, it will require a decision from the Kentucky courts to determine conclusively whether or not the altered licenses are valid,” ACLU staff attorney Ria Mar said in a statement earlier this week.
“The bottom line is that all loving couples in Rowan County can now receive marriage licenses, and we’ll continue to fight to ensure that remains the case.”
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