Update 2 p.m.: Marriage License Issued
A marriage license was issued to a same-sex couple in Rowan County early Monday afternoon, the first since County Clerk Kim Davis returned to her office.
Davis spent five days in jail earlier this month after a federal judge held her in contempt for refusing to issue marriage licenses. An Apostolic Christian, Davis had refused to issue marriage licenses from her office since the Supreme Court effectively legalized same-sex marriage in June.
Deputy clerk Brian Mason and other deputies resumed issuing marriage licenses from the Rowan County Clerk's Office while Davis was jailed. Davis' attorneys had previously said the marriage licenses weren't valid.
But early Monday, Davis said she wouldn't interfere with the issuance of marriage licenses by her deputies.
On Monday, Carmen and Shannon Wompler-Collins approached deputy clerk Brian Mason and, after a brief computer issue, were issued a marriage license amid shouts from a protester.
Man shouts protests while same-sex couple receives marriage license in Rowan Co pic.twitter.com/wZsTHRKcNF
— Ryland Barton (@RylandKY) September 14, 2015
The document stated it had been issued "pursuant to federal court order," the couple said.
Davis' stance against same-sex marriage quickly became a political issue, with presidential candidates weighing in. Republican presidential candidates Mike Huckabee and Ted Cruz were present when she was released last week from jail last week.
Meanwhile, state Senate President Robert Stivers said he and House Speaker Greg Stumbo agree that the state's marriage license form should be changed.
Earlier: Speaking to reporters at her office this morning, Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis announced she would not interfere with the issuance of marriage licenses from her office despite continued objections to a federal judge's order requiring her to provide the licenses.
Davis' deputy clerk, Brian Mason, said he would continue issuing licenses, which Davis stopped doing in June, after the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. Davis, an Apostolic Christian, has claimed issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples violates her religious beliefs.
Mason and other deputies resumed issuing the licenses last week.
Davis told reporters on Monday that any licenses issued from her office would include an indication that they were provided under court order.
In a brief Friday, attorneys for Davis asked the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to allow her to continue blocking the issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples, arguing that because the couples who sued her had gotten licenses, she should not be required to issue them to any other couples.
Davis returned to work Monday after a five-day stint in the Carter County Detention Center. U.S. District Court Judge David Bunning found her in contempt of court for refusing to obey his order to issue marriage licenses.
