Anti-gay clerk can refuse to marry gay couples, for now

A US federal judge has allowed homophobic County Clerk Kim Davis to continue to refuse to issue marriage licenses until her case’s appeal has been heard.

Judge David Bunning, who previously ordered Davis to obey the law and not discriminate against gays and lesbians, agreed to temporarily suspend his ruling.

Judge Bunning had earlier declared that Davis’ “religious convictions cannot excuse her from performing the duties that she took an oath to perform as Rowan County Clerk.”

Despite this, he justified the suspension of his ruling by explaining on Monday that “emotions are running high on both sides of the debate.”

Citing her religious beliefs, Davis stopped issuing all marriage licenses in her county in the state of Kentucky rather than be forced to recognise same-sex marriages.

Her case will now be decided by the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) said in a statement that the US Supreme Court had already “firmly established that every person has a fundamental right to marry the person they love.”

JoDee Winterhof, HRC Vice President for Policy and Political Affairs, added that, “No public employee should have the right to deny or delay that right to loving, committed same-sex couples who have already waited far too long for marriage equality.”

She urged the Sixth Circuit “to rule swiftly and unequivocally that gay and lesbian couples must be treated equally under our laws.”

Davis, who was last month videoed refusing to grant a marriage license to David Moore and his partner of 17 years, has filed her own suit against Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear, arguing that he should have allowed her and other clerks in the state to “opt-out” of issuing same-sex marriage licenses.