Update 10:00 a.m.: Davis' office is still refusing to issue marriage licenses. A couple was turned away by office staff Thursday morning, according to the Associated Press.
Original Post: Rowan County, KY Clerk Kim Davis will have to resume issuing marriage licenses while she is being sued by four couples who were denied licenses, according to a ruling Wednesday from the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Davis’ defense team is appealing that decision.
In its ruling, the three-judge appeals court panel said there was “little or no likelihood that the Clerk in her official capacity will prevail on appeal.”
Davis’ defense lawyers say they will appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.
Davis is represented by Liberty Counsel, a non-profit law firm that specializes in religious freedom cases. Its founder and chairman, Mat Staver, says that even though she’s a government official, Davis’ religious freedoms should be upheld.
“The implication is that if you work at a government agency you don’t have any religious freedom rights. If that’s the implication that’s staggering and that’s a startling proposition,” says Staver.
Davis stopped issuing marriage licenses after the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage. An Apostolic Christian, she says that her religious views prevent her from approving same-sex marriage.
Rather than be accused of discrimination, Davis stopped issuing licenses to all couples.