KENTUCKY: Liberty Counsel Tells Court That Clerk Is A "Conscientious Objector"

The Liberty Counsel yesterday filed a motion in the ACLU's lawsuit against four-times-married Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis in which they characterize her as being similar to an anti-war conscientious objector.

“Like a noncombatant who cannot shoulder a rifle, a county clerk who cannot issue” same-sex licenses “can still faithfully and devotedly serve this country, and their county,” lawyers for Kim Davis argued in a pleading filed Thursday in U.S. District Court. Asking Judge David Bunning to deny an injunction forcing Davis to begin issuing licenses again, attorneys Roger Gannam and Jonathan Christman from the Orlando-based Liberty Counsel note that Kentucky law allows county clerks an exemption from issuing fishing and hunting licenses. “If Kentucky is able to accommodate personal beliefs and conscientious objection regarding something that is (to some) as trivial as fishing and hunting, surely Kentucky can and must provide similar accommodation for deeply held beliefs about the fundamental nature of marriage,” they said in their pleading.

The ACLU has seven days to respond to the latest motion. Earlier this month Davis testified that she had "prayed and fasted" about her decision to disobey the Supreme Court. The final ruling in the case is expected in mid-August. Kentucky's county clerks are elected and can only be removed by the state legislature, which is out of session until January. Davis and other renegade clerks face fines and jail for contempt of court should the ruling go against them.