Kim Davis

{{Location map

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|lat = 38.175

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|label = Rowan County

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|alt = Map showing the location of Rowan County, Kentucky}}

{{Location map

|USA Kentucky

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|lat = 38.175

|long = -83.439

|label = Rowan County

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|caption = The county seat of Rowan County, Kentucky is Morehead, Kentucky.

|alt = Map showing the location of Morehead, Kentucky}}

Kim Davis was born on September 17, 1965, in Morehead, Kentucky.{{cite news |title=Kentucky clerk who refused same-sex marriage licenses starts new appeal |date=September 6, 2015 |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-gaymarriage-kentucky-idUSKCN0R60UY20150906 |access-date=May 8, 2016}} By 1991, she was serving as chief deputy clerk of Rowan County, Kentucky, reporting to her mother, Rowan County Clerk Jean W. Bailey.{{cite news |title=County clerk's office budget reduced first time |work=The Morehead News |location=Morehead, Kentucky |date=December 27, 2011 |first=Keith |last=Kappes |url=http://www.themoreheadnews.com/news/local_news/county-clerk-s-office-budget-reduced-first-time/article_d700d7ff-7041-5c92-ae21-c8454437230f.html |access-date=September 6, 2015 |quote=The highest staff wage in 2011 – $63,113 – was paid to Bailey's chief deputy clerk, Kim Davis, who also happens to be her daughter. Davis is listed at $24.91 hourly for a 40-hour work week and an annual wage of $51,812 ... her rate of pay apparently triggered most of the complaints. |archive-date=March 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190301160307/https://www.themoreheadnews.com/news/local_news/county-clerk-s-office-budget-reduced-first-time/article_d700d7ff-7041-5c92-ae21-c8454437230f.html |url-status=dead }} Davis's 2011 compensation was {{US$|51812|2011|long=no}} in wages with an additional {{US$|11301|2011|long=no}} in overtime and other compensation. She earned more than other chief deputies in the county,{{efn|Chief Deputy Sheriff Joe Cline received $38,000 annually and Deputy Judge-Executive Jerry Alderman $36,000 annually; neither received overtime pay.}} and some county employees and residents complained to the county's governing body, the Fiscal Court, that the clerk's staff's wages were too high, with total compensation for five employees being about $198,000. The Fiscal Court then voted to cut the 2012 budget for wages from $300,000 to $200,000.

After her mother announced she would not run for re-election in 2014, Davis filed as a Democratic candidate for county clerk.{{cite news |author=(Staff) |title=Blevins wins judge-executive nomination |work=The Morehead News |location=Morehead, Kentucky |date=May 20, 2014 |url=http://www.themoreheadnews.com/archives/blevins-wins-judge-executive-nomination/article_8671660e-c3eb-51d1-8f55-f232e66c2094.html |access-date=September 6, 2015 |archive-date=July 9, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170709081025/http://www.themoreheadnews.com/archives/blevins-wins-judge-executive-nomination/article_8671660e-c3eb-51d1-8f55-f232e66c2094.html |url-status=dead }} At a candidates' forum, Davis stated she felt she was best qualified for the position because of her 26 years of experience in the clerk's office.{{cite news |title=Primary candidates featured at forum |work=The Morehead News |location=Morehead, Kentucky |date=April 25, 2014 |first=Brad |last=Stacy |url=http://www.themoreheadnews.com/news/local_news/primary-candidates-featured-at-forum/article_8a5812f2-1162-5350-a1ff-289de550d081.html |access-date=September 6, 2015 |archive-date=July 11, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190711042737/https://www.themoreheadnews.com/news/local_news/primary-candidates-featured-at-forum/article_8a5812f2-1162-5350-a1ff-289de550d081.html |url-status=dead }}

Davis narrowly won the Democratic primary election, defeating Elwood Caudill Jr., a deputy clerk in the Rowan County property valuation administrator's office, by 23 votes and advancing to the general election against Republican John Cox.{{cite news |last=Kappes |first=Keith |url=http://www.themoreheadnews.com/news/local_news/davis-wins-squeaker-in-county-clerk-s-race/article_950beaca-3024-5bec-ad69-1140e4f502c8.html |title=Davis wins squeaker in county clerk's race |work=The Morehead News |location=Morehead, Kentucky |date=May 23, 2014 |access-date=October 2, 2016 |archive-date=March 9, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170309085137/http://www.themoreheadnews.com/news/local_news/davis-wins-squeaker-in-county-clerk-s-race/article_950beaca-3024-5bec-ad69-1140e4f502c8.html |url-status=dead }}{{cite news |last=Menville |first=Shayla |title=County clerk's race more contested than usual |work=The Morehead News |location=Morehead, Kentucky |date=October 17, 2014 |url=http://www.themoreheadnews.com/news/local_news/county-clerk-s-race-more-contested-than-usual/article_1bbd5592-55fe-11e4-8f89-377bb4c40dd9.html |access-date=September 6, 2015 |archive-date=August 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180820112303/http://www.themoreheadnews.com/news/local_news/county-clerk-s-race-more-contested-than-usual/article_1bbd5592-55fe-11e4-8f89-377bb4c40dd9.html |url-status=dead }} Davis won the election, with Cox subsequently alleging that nepotism was to blame for his loss.{{cite news |url=http://nyti.ms/1UltZRI |title=Kim Davis, a Local Fixture, and Now a National Symbol |first1=Alan |last1=Blinder |first2=Richard |last2=Fausset |author-link1=Alan Blinder |work=The New York Times |date=September 1, 2015 |access-date=September 2, 2015}} After winning the race, Davis told The Morehead News, "My words can never express the appreciation but I promise to each and every one that I will be the very best working clerk that I can be and will be a good steward of their tax dollars and follow the statutes of this office to the letter."{{cite news |last=Menville |first=Shayla |title=Davis following her mother as county clerk |work=The Morehead News |location=Morehead, Kentucky |date=November 7, 2014 |url=http://www.themoreheadnews.com/news/local_news/davis-following-her-mother-as-county-clerk/article_29982458-6689-11e4-ad6b-172bf9700635.html |access-date=September 6, 2015 |archive-date=August 30, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830145345/http://www.themoreheadnews.com/news/local_news/davis-following-her-mother-as-county-clerk/article_29982458-6689-11e4-ad6b-172bf9700635.html |url-status=dead }}{{cite news |url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/kentucky-clerk-wont-give-gay-couple-marriage-license-defying-order |title=Kentucky Clerk Won't Give Gay Couple Marriage License, Defying Order |publisher=Fox News Channel |date=August 13, 2015 |access-date=September 1, 2015}}

Davis took the oath of office as the county clerk of Rowan County on {{nowrap|January 5}}, 2015, beginning a four-year term slated to end on {{nowrap|January 7}}, 2019.{{cite web |title=Kentucky Constitution, Section 99 |url=http://www.lrc.ky.gov/legresou/constitu/099.htm |publisher=Kentucky Legislature |access-date=September 4, 2015 |quote=At the ... election in [1998] and every [4] years thereafter, there shall be elected in each county ... a County Court Clerk ... who shall enter upon the discharge of the duties of their offices on the first Monday in January after their election, and who shall hold their offices [4] years ... |archive-date=September 4, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904012829/http://www.lrc.ky.gov/legresou/constitu/099.htm |url-status=dead }} As clerk in 2015, Davis received an annual salary of {{US$|80000|2015|long=no}}.{{cite news |last1=Wynn |first1=Mike |last2=Wolfson |first2=Andrew |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/09/01/ky-clerk-defies-court-refuses-issue-marriage-license-gays/71505008/ |title=Gay couples ask judge to punish defiant clerk |work=USA Today |date=September 1, 2015 |access-date=September 1, 2015}}{{cite news |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/kentucky-clerk-same-sex-marriage-kim-davis-turbulent-marital-history/ |title=Clerk in Ky. marriage fight has turbulent marital history |publisher=CBS News |date=September 2, 2015 |access-date=September 3, 2015}}

{{see also|Obergefell v. Hodges{{!}}Obergefell v. Hodges}}

On {{nowrap|June 26}}, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the landmark case of Obergefell v. Hodges, holding that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.{{cite court |litigants=Obergefell v. Hodges |vol=576 |reporter=US |pinpoint=*22 |date=June 26, 2015 |url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/14pdf/14-556_3204.pdf |access-date=September 3, 2015 |quote=The Court now holds that same-sex couples may exercise the fundamental right to marry.}}{{cite news |last1=Denniston |first1=Lyle |author-link=Lyle Denniston |date=June 26, 2015 |title=Opinion Analysis: Marriage Now Open to Same-Sex Couples |url=http://www.scotusblog.com/2015/06/opinion-analysis-marriage-now-open-to-same-sex-couples/ |work=SCOTUSblog |access-date=July 2, 2015}} Fourteen counties in three Southern states continued to deny marriage licenses for same-sex marriage. The Alabama Supreme Court allowed the probate judges of ten counties in Alabama to deny such marriage licenses, the clerk of one Texas county chose to resign rather than issue such licenses, and the clerks of two counties in Kentucky were not issuing licenses due to paperwork delays.{{cite news |last=Stolberg |first=Sheryl Gay |title=Kentucky Clerk Defies Court on Marriage Licenses for Gay Couples |work=The New York Times |date=August 13, 2015 |url=http://nyti.ms/1P9wiQW |access-date=September 8, 2015}}{{cite news |last=Morris |first=Luke |title=Rusk County clerk resigns to keep from issuing gay marriage licenses |date=July 10, 2015 |work=The Dallas Morning News |url=http://www.dallasnews.com/news/news/2015/07/10/rusk-county-clerk-resigns-to-keep-from-issuing-gay-marriage-licenses |access-date=September 13, 2015}}{{cite web |title=Local Government Responses to Obergefell v. Hodges: Local government response by state |publisher=Ballotpedia |date=September 11, 2015 |url=https://ballotpedia.org/Local_government_responses_to_Obergefell_v._Hodges |access-date=August 31, 2015}} Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear ordered all Kentucky county clerks to begin issuing same-sex marriage licenses immediately.{{cite news |last=Lord |first=Joseph |title=Gov. Steve Beshear: Kentucky Will Recognize Same-Sex Marriages Starting Today |work=WKMS-FM |location=Murray, Kentucky |date=June 26, 2015 |url=http://wkms.org/post/gov-steve-beshear-kentucky-will-recognize-same-sex-marriages-starting-today |access-date=October 3, 2015}}{{cite news |last=Wynn |first=Mike |url=http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2015/07/21/marriage-license-suit-vs-clerk-back-court/30319757/ |title=Clerk 'sought God' on marriage license issue |date=July 21, 2015 |work=The Courier-Journal |location=Louisville, Kentucky |access-date=October 3, 2015}}

File:Kim Davis (county clerk) refusing a marriage licence to David Ermold and David Moore.jpg

Davis contacted Beshear, asking for an executive order to protect clerks who have moral objections against personally issuing such marriage licenses, as Kentucky law requires county clerks to issue marriage licenses in their names. She began turning away gay couples from her county office who were seeking marriage licenses. David Ermold and David Moore, a same-sex couple from Morehead, Kentucky and alumni of Morehead State University, released video footage on July 7, 2015, of Davis refusing to issue them a marriage license and requesting that they turn off their camera.{{cite AV media |people=David Ermold and David Moore |date=July 7, 2015 |title=Denied marriage license in Morehead, KY - Rowan County |via=YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QU3yCvJWtDU |access-date=December 27, 2015}}{{cite news |first=Bil |last=Browning |title=Cops Respond to Kentucky Gay Couple Requesting Marriage License |url=https://www.advocate.com/politics/marriage-equality/2015/07/08/watch-cops-respond-kentucky-gay-couple-requesting-marriage-lic |work=The Advocate |date=July 8, 2015 |access-date=August 5, 2017}} The video went viral overnight.{{cite news |author=(Staff) |title=Video of Rowan clerk denying same-sex couple's marriage license goes viral |publisher=WKYT-TV |location=Lexington, Kentucky |date=July 9, 2015 |url=http://www.wkyt.com/home/headlines/Video-of-Rowan-County-clerk-denying-same-sex-couple-a-marriage-license-goes-viral-312940421.html |access-date=May 7, 2016 |archive-date=May 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160503050339/http://www.wkyt.com/home/headlines/Video-of-Rowan-County-clerk-denying-same-sex-couple-a-marriage-license-goes-viral-312940421.html |url-status=dead }}

The Family Foundation of Kentucky, a local political organization, held a protest rally against the ruling at the State Capitol in Frankfort on August 22, 2015, attended by several thousand people.{{cite news |last=Brammer |first=Jack |url=http://www.kentucky.com/news/hot-topics/article42608967.html |title=Two rallies in Frankfort represent two sides of same-sex marriage debate |work=Lexington Herald-Leader |location=Lexington, Kentucky |date=August 22, 2015 |access-date=September 15, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160815034058/http://www.kentucky.com/news/hot-topics/article42608967.html |archive-date=August 15, 2016 }} The clerks of the two other Kentucky counties declined to speak to the rally crowd, but Davis spoke briefly, saying, "I need your prayers ... to continue to stand firm in what we believe."{{cite news |last=Chamberland |first=Michele |title=Thousands Rally for Clerks Denying Gay Marriage Licenses |publisher=WKYT-TV |location=Lexington, Kentucky |date=August 22, 2015 |url=http://www.wkyt.com/home/headlines/Thousands-rally-for-clerks-denying-gay-marriage-licenses-322594382.html |access-date=August 31, 2015 |archive-date=August 28, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150828235615/http://www.wkyt.com/home/headlines/Thousands-rally-for-clerks-denying-gay-marriage-licenses-322594382.html |url-status=dead }} At a competing event several blocks away organized by the Fairness Campaign of Louisville, attendees celebrated the Supreme Court's decision and called upon government officials to uphold the law.

Rather than issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, Davis began denying marriage licenses to all couples.

{{main|Miller v. Davis}}

Six couples who were denied marriage licenses from Davis sued her in her official capacity as county clerk. Four couples were represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Kentucky and two couples each had separate legal representation.{{cite news |author=(Staff) |title=Court of Appeals denies delay, Davis still refuses |date=August 28, 2015 |work=The Morehead News |location=Morehead, Kentucky |url=http://www.themoreheadnews.com/news/local_news/court-of-appeals-denies-delay-davis-still-refuses/article_6b480876-4d80-11e5-85a8-135859b0bc5e.html |access-date=August 29, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190711044549/https://www.themoreheadnews.com/news/local_news/court-of-appeals-denies-delay-davis-still-refuses/article_6b480876-4d80-11e5-85a8-135859b0bc5e.html |archive-date=July 11, 2019 }}{{cite web |title=ACLU of Kentucky Files Class Action Suit Against Rowan County and its Clerk; Says Denial of Marriage Licenses to Same Gender and Opposite Gender Couples Unconstitutional |location=Louisville, Kentucky |publisher=ACLU |date=July 2, 2015 |url=https://www.aclu.org/news/aclu-kentucky-files-class-action-suit-against-rowan-county-and-its-clerk |access-date=September 13, 2015}} The four couples represented by the ACLU, two same-sex couples and two opposite-sex couples, filed the first lawsuit against Davis (Miller v. Davis) on July 2, 2015.{{cite court |litigants=Miller v. Davis |court=Kentucky Eastern District Court |date=July 2, 2015 |vol=PacerMonitor |url=https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/8647613/Miller_et_al_v_Davis_et_al |access-date=May 8, 2016}}{{cite court |litigants=Miller v. Davis |court=Kentucky Eastern District Court |date=July 2, 2015 |vol=PlainSite |url=http://www.plainsite.org/dockets/2m8ak10k6/kentucky-eastern-district-court/miller-et-al-v-davis-et-al/ |access-date=May 8, 2016}}{{cite court |litigants=Miller v. Davis |court=Kentucky Eastern District Court |date=July 2, 2015 |vol=Justia |url=https://dockets.justia.com/docket/kentucky/kyedce/0:2015cv00044/78171 |access-date=May 8, 2016}} On July 10, 2015, David Ermold and David Moore (who had shot the viral video) next filed suit against Davis, represented by Joseph Buckles and Thomas Szczygielski (Ermold v. Davis);{{cite court |litigants=Ermold v. Davis |court=Kentucky Eastern District Court |date=July 10, 2015 |vol=PacerMonitor |url=https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/8694432/Ermold_et_al_v_Davis_et_al |access-date=May 8, 2016}}{{cite court |litigants=Ermold v. Davis |court=Kentucky Eastern District Court |date=July 10, 2015 |vol=PlainSite |url=http://www.plainsite.org/dockets/2mvj5qyf0/kentucky-eastern-district-court/ermold-et-al-v-davis-et-al/ |access-date=May 8, 2016}}{{cite court |litigants=Ermold v. Davis |court=Kentucky Eastern District Court |date=July 10, 2015 |vol=Justia |url=https://dockets.justia.com/docket/kentucky/kyedce/0:2015cv00046/78194 |access-date=May 8, 2016}} James Yates and William Smith Jr., represented by Rene Heinrich of the Heinrich Firm PLLC and Kash Stilz of Roush & Stilz PSC, filed a suit against Davis on August 25, 2015 (Yates v. Davis).{{cite court |litigants=Yates v. Davis |court=Kentucky Eastern District Court |date=August 25, 2015 |vol=PacerMonitor |url=https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/9236637/Yates_et_al_v_Davis_et_al |access-date=May 8, 2016}}{{cite court |litigants=Yates v. Davis |court=Kentucky Eastern District Court |date=August 25, 2015 |vol=PlainSite |url=http://www.plainsite.org/dockets/2ncew0s1a/kentucky-eastern-district-court/yates-et-al-v-davis-et-al/ |access-date=May 8, 2016}}{{cite court |litigants=Yates v. Davis |court=Kentucky Eastern District Court |date=August 25, 2015 |vol=Justia |url=https://dockets.justia.com/docket/kentucky/kyedce/0:2015cv00062/78453 |access-date=May 8, 2016}}

Federal district judge David L. Bunning of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, the judge assigned to the cases, held hearings with Davis in Ashland, at which she was the only witness. Davis argued tearfully that issuing licenses under her name violated her beliefs, citing her religious rights under the First Amendment: "It wasn't just a spur-of-the-moment decision", she said. "It was thought out, and I sought God on it." Davis had already decided against resigning from her post, as doing so, she said, would only leave the matter to her deputies: "If I resign, I solve nothing. It helps nobody." Governor Beshear stated that he would not call a special session of the General Assembly to address Davis's concerns, while other state legislators believed that such a session could accommodate Davis with possible new legislation.{{cite news |last=Wolfson |first=Andrew |url=http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/ky-legislature/2015/09/02/stivers-asks-judge-not-punish-kim-davis/71608948/ |title=Stivers asks judge to not punish Kim Davis |date=September 2, 2015 |work=The Courier-Journal |location=Louisville, Kentucky |access-date=October 3, 2015}} Davis's attorneys, from the Maitland, Florida–based law firm Liberty Counsel,{{cite news | author-link = Mark Joseph Stern | last = Stern |first=Mark Joseph |date=August 31, 2015 |title=Is Kentucky's Infamous Anti-Gay Clerk Getting Taken for a Ride by Her Lawyers? |work=Slate |url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/outward/2015/08/31/kim_davis_and_the_liberty_counsel_anti_gay_group_is_bad_news.html |access-date=September 3, 2015}}{{efn|Liberty Counsel had already entered the debate over same-sex marriage by representing the eleven Alabama probate judges refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.{{cite news |url=https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2015/02/09/anti-lgbt-hate-group-represent-alabama-judges-refusing-perform-same-sex-marriages |title=Anti-LGBT Hate Group to Represent Alabama Judges Refusing to Perform Same-Sex Marriages |publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center |date=February 9, 2015 |access-date=September 3, 2015 |quote=Founded in 1989 and based in Orlando, Fla., the Liberty Counsel is well known for its strident anti-LGBT rhetoric.}}}} stated that the plaintiffs were free to drive to other counties to obtain their same-sex marriage licenses, with one adding, "This case is not about these plaintiffs' desires to get married, the case is about [their] desire to force Kim Davis to approve and authorize their marriage in violation of her constitutionally protected religious beliefs." Davis and her attorneys then sued Governor Beshear for ordering her to violate her religious beliefs instead of trying to accommodate them, arguing that Beshear, not Davis, should be held accountable for any legal damages from the ACLU lawsuit.{{cite news |first=John |last=Cheves |title=Rowan County clerk sues Ky. governor; claims same-sex marriage order violates religious freedom |date=August 5, 2015 |work=Lexington Herald-Leader |location=Lexington, Kentucky |url=http://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article44613963.html |access-date=October 3, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160507170355/http://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article44613963.html |archive-date=May 7, 2016}}{{cite news |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ky-clerk-suing-governor-same-sex-marriage-order-article-1.2315864 |title=Kentucky clerk suing Gov. Steve Beshear over order to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples |work=Daily News |location=New York |date=August 5, 2015 |access-date=October 3, 2015}}

On August 12, Bunning issued a temporary stay barring Davis from "applying her 'no marriage licenses' policy to future marriage license requests".{{cite news |last=Liptak |first=Adam |author-link=Adam Liptak |url=http://nyti.ms/1hsPEp8 |title=Supreme Court Says Kentucky Clerk Must Let Gay Couples Marry |date=August 31, 2015 |work=The New York Times |access-date=August 31, 2015}} Before the stay expired, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit refused to extend that ruling for an appeal. "It cannot be defensibly argued that the holder of the Rowan County clerk's office ... may decline to act in conformity with the United States Constitution", the three-judge panel wrote unanimously in their refusal, continuing, "There is thus little or no likelihood that the clerk in her official capacity will prevail on appeal."

{{main|Miller v. Davis#Appeal}}

Liberty Counsel and Davis filed an emergency application to appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court. On August 31, 2015, in a one-line order, the Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal, preventing Davis from legally continuing to deny marriage licenses.{{cite news |last1=de Vogue |first1=Ariane |last2=Diamond |first2=Jeremy |url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/31/politics/kentucky-gay-marriage-licenses-supreme-court/index.html |title=ACLU Wants Kentucky Clerk in Contempt of Court over Denying Gay Marriage Licenses |publisher=CNN |date=September 1, 2015 |access-date=September 1, 2015}} In response to the U.S. Supreme Court's refusal to grant her stay request, Davis stated:

{{blockquote|I never imagined a day like this would come, where I would be asked to violate a central teaching of Scripture and of Jesus Himself regarding marriage. To issue a marriage license which conflicts with God's definition of marriage, with my name affixed to the certificate, would violate my conscience.{{cite news |author=(Staff) |title=Kim Davis Issues Statement |work=The Morehead News |location=Morehead, Kentucky |date=September 1, 2015 |url=http://www.themoreheadnews.com/news/kim-davis-issues-statement/article_adcd91c4-50c4-11e5-9a3f-37ac7706d52d.html |access-date=September 6, 2015}}{{cite news |last1=Wynn |first1=Mike |last2=Wolfson |first2=Andrew |url=http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2015/09/01/rowan-courthouse-kim-davis/71504176/ |title=Kim Davis cites God, Crowd jeers gay couple |date=September 2, 2015 |work=The Courier-Journal |location=Louisville, Kentucky |access-date=October 3, 2015}}{{cite web |title=Statement of Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis |date=September 1, 2015 |publisher=Liberty Counsel |url=http://www.lc.org/index.cfm?PID=14102&AlertID=1965 |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20150902203448/http://www.lc.org/index.cfm?PID=14102&AlertID=1965 |archive-date=September 2, 2015 |access-date=September 3, 2015}}}}

Davis continued to defy Bunning's court order after the Supreme Court's refusal.{{cite news |first=John |last=Cheves |title=Q&A: What can federal judge do to make Rowan clerk obey his order to issue marriage licenses? |date=September 2, 2015 |work=Lexington Herald-Leader |location=Lexington, Kentucky |url=http://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article42611631.html |access-date=September 4, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160507165839/http://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article42611631.html |archive-date=May 7, 2016}}{{cite news |last=Chappell |first=Bill |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/08/31/436431204/kentucky-clerk-s-request-for-a-stay-is-denied-by-u-s-supreme-court |title=Kentucky Clerk's Request for a Stay Is Denied By U.S. Supreme Court |publisher=NPR |date=August 31, 2015 |access-date=September 6, 2015}} The following morning, several couples sought to obtain marriage licenses, but Davis turned them away, saying she was acting "under God's authority".{{cite news |url=http://nyti.ms/1LQWB0r |title=Kentucky Clerk Denies Same-Sex Marriage Licenses, Defying Court |work=The New York Times |date=September 1, 2015 |last1=Blinder |first1=Alan |last2=Perez-Pena |first2=Richard |author-link1=Alan Blinder |access-date=September 1, 2015}}{{cite news |last=Bobic |first=Igor |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kentucky-clerk-gay-marriage-license_us_55e5a2bfe4b0b7a9633a2303 |title=Kentucky Clerk Refuses to Issue Marriage License to Gay Couples in Heated Exchange |work=HuffPost |date=September 1, 2015 |access-date=September 1, 2015}} Some in the media questioned whether Davis, having been married four times and only recently converted, was acting hypocritically in the application of her beliefs.{{cite news |first=Ryan |last=Felton |title=Kentucky clerk denying licenses to gay couples has married four times |date=September 2, 2015 |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/sep/02/kentucky-clerk-kim-davis-divorced-three-times |access-date=September 3, 2015}}{{cite news |first=Gabriel |last=Arana |author-link=Gabriel Arana |title=Dan Savage: Thrice-Divorced Kim Davis Is A 'Hypocrite,' Just 'Waiting To Cash In' |date=September 2, 2015 |work=HuffPost |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/dan-savage-kim-davis_us_55e72786e4b0aec9f355722b |access-date=September 3, 2015}}

{{main|Miller v. Davis#Contempt of court{{!}}Miller v. Davis#Contempt of court}}

Judge Bunning ordered Davis and her six deputy clerks to appear before him on {{nowrap|September 3}} after the six couples sought to have her held in contempt of court.{{cite news |last1=Wynn |first1=Mike |last2=Kenning |first2=Chris |title=Ky. clerk's office will issue marriage licenses Friday – without the clerk |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2015/09/03/rowan-county-ky-court-clerk-marriage-licenses-gays/71635794/ |date=September 4, 2015 |work=USA Today |access-date=September 4, 2015}}{{cite news |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/kentucky-clerk-kim-davis-refusing-marry-same-sex-couples-could-learn-fate-thursday/ |title=Defiant Kentucky county clerk to learn fate soon |publisher=CBS News |date=September 3, 2015 |access-date=September 3, 2015}} Bunning ruled in the plaintiffs' favor and held Davis in contempt.{{cite news |last=Graham |first=Alexandria |url=http://www.wtvq.com/2015/09/03/court-adjourned-kim-davis-jailed-for-contempt-of-court/ |title=Court adjourned: Kim Davis jailed for contempt of court |work=WTVQ-DT |location=Lexington, Kentucky |date=September 3, 2015 |access-date=September 3, 2015}}{{cite news |last=Ortiz |first=Erik |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/kentucky-clerk-kim-davis-held-contempt-court-n421126 |title=Kim Davis, Kentucky Clerk, Held in Contempt and Ordered to Jail |publisher=NBC News |date=September 3, 2015 |access-date=September 3, 2015}} The ACLU asked the court to fine Davis,{{cite news |last=Oh |first=Inae |url=https://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2015/09/kentucky-clerk-kim-davis-contempt-court |title=Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis Headed to Court Over Refusal to Issue Gay Marriage Licenses |work=Mother Jones |date=September 3, 2015 |access-date=September 3, 2015}} but Bunning ordered her remanded in custody after the hearing. The judge said Davis would remain there until she complied with the court's order to issue marriage licenses. Bunning then spoke with each of the deputy clerks who reported to Davis. Only her son, Nathan Davis, told the judge he refused to comply with the court's order to start issuing marriage licenses; Bunning declined to hold him in contempt.{{cite news |last1=Blinder |first1=Alan |author-link=Alan Blinder |first2=Tamar |last2=Lewin |url=http://nyti.ms/1LXJv1J |title=Clerk in Kentucky Chooses Jail Over Deal on Same-Sex Marriage |work=The New York Times |date=September 3, 2015 |access-date=September 3, 2015}}{{cite news |last=Dolan |first=Eric W. |url=https://www.rawstory.com/2015/09/kim-daviss-son-refuses-to-issue-same-sex-marriage-licenses-after-mother-is-jailed/ |title=Kim Davis' son Nathan refuses to issue same-sex marriage licenses in Kentucky after mother is jailed |work=The Raw Story |date=September 3, 2015 |access-date=December 27, 2015}} After the hearing, U.S. Marshals transported Davis to the Carter County Detention Center in Grayson.{{cite news |url=http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/Rowan-Clerk-Ordered-To-Issue-Marriage-Licenses-Again-323007901.html |title=Hundreds Attend Rally for Kim Davis at Carter County Detention Center |last1=Griffin |first1=Dan |last2=Colegrove |first2=Andrew |agency=Associated Press |publisher=WSAZ-TV |location=Huntington, West Virginia |access-date=September 6, 2015 }}{{Dead link|date=September 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}

On Friday, September 4, the first day her office was open during her incarceration, Davis's deputy clerks began issuing marriage licenses to all couples. James Yates and William Smith Jr. (independently suing Davis) were the first couple in Rowan County to receive a marriage license since Obergefell.{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/04/politics/kentucky-clerk-same-sex-marriage-kim-davis/ |title=After Kim Davis is jailed, clerk's office issues marriage license to gay couple |last1=Payne |first1=Ed |last2=Hanna |first2=Jason |date=September 4, 2015 |publisher=CNN |access-date=January 13, 2016}} They were soon followed by other couples who were plaintiffs against Davis.{{cite news |url=http://www.whas11.com/news/marriage-licenses-issued-in-rowan-co-to-same-sex-couples/169352742 |title=Marriage licenses issued in Rowan Co. to same-sex couples |last1=Williams |first1=Bethanni |last2=Rose |first2=Derrick |date=September 4, 2015 |publisher=WHAS-TV |location=Louisville, Kentucky |access-date=April 13, 2016}}

Through her Liberty Counsel attorneys, Davis filed an appeal of the order holding her in contempt of court, asking that she be released immediately from jail and that her name be removed from marriage licenses, allowing her deputies to issue them.{{cite news |last=Payne |first=Ed |url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/06/politics/kim-davis-kentucky-clerk-same-sex-marriage/ |title=Kim Davis appeals contempt of court ruling over same-sex marriage licenses |date=September 7, 2015 |publisher=CNN |access-date=September 7, 2015}} Separately, Davis asked Governor Beshear to free her. The governor's office said that the conflict was a "matter between her and the courts";{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/07/politics/kim-davis-same-sex-marriage-kentucky-governor/ |first1=Ralph |last1=Ellis |first2=Ed |last2=Payne |publisher=CNN |date=September 7, 2015 |title=Kim Davis asks Kentucky governor to free her in same-sex marriage case |access-date=September 7, 2015}} Beshear added that he lacked the legal authority to either remove Davis from office or to relieve Davis of her statutory duties.{{cite news |last=Martinez |first=Michael |url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/04/us/kim-davis-things-to-know/index.html |title=Who is Kim Davis, Kentucky clerk jailed over same-sex marriage licenses? |date=September 9, 2015 |publisher=CNN |access-date=September 30, 2017 |quote=The governor has no legal authority to remove Davis and cannot use an executive order to relieve her of statutory duties, he said.}} Rowan County Democratic Judge-Executive Walter Blevins{{cite news |url=http://www.maysville-online.com/news/local/blevins-to-run-for-rowan-judge-executive/article_3dec5c9d-fa24-5130-b83e-cf1e8b49da3d.html |first=Marla |last=Tongray |date=December 30, 2013 |work=The Ledger Independent |location=Maysville, Kentucky |title=Blevins to run for Rowan judge-executive |access-date=September 7, 2015 }}{{Dead link|date=November 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} stated that he did not believe he would need to appoint a replacement for Davis, and that he believed the Attorney General of Kentucky and "the General Assembly will pass something where marriage licenses don't have anyone's name on them".{{cite news |url=http://www.themoreheadnews.com/news/local_news/blevins-optimistic-davis-won-t-be-impeached/article_984e9e18-517f-11e5-918d-d3a14cba38b8.html |first=Larry |last=DeHart |date=September 2, 2015 |work=The Morehead News |location=Morehead, Kentucky |title=Blevins optimistic Davis won't be impeached |access-date=September 7, 2015 |archive-date=August 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180820112258/http://www.themoreheadnews.com/news/local_news/blevins-optimistic-davis-won-t-be-impeached/article_984e9e18-517f-11e5-918d-d3a14cba38b8.html |url-status=dead }}

{{main|Miller v. Davis#Release from custody}}

Five days later, on Tuesday, September 8, Bunning ordered Davis released from jail.{{cite news |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/kentucky-clerk-kim-davis-released-from-jail/ |title=Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis Ordered Released from Jail |publisher=CBS News |date=September 8, 2015 |access-date=September 8, 2015}}{{cite news |last=Schuppe |first=Jon |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/judge-orders-kim-davis-freed-kentucky-jail-n423541 |title=Judge Orders Kim Davis Freed from Kentucky Jail |publisher=NBC News |date=September 8, 2015 |access-date=September 8, 2015}}{{cite news |last=Peralta |first=Eyder |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/09/08/438587612/hours-before-big-rally-judge-orders-kim-davis-released |title=Just Before Big Rally, Kim Davis Is Released From Jail |publisher=NPR |date=September 8, 2015 |access-date=September 8, 2015}} The order stated: "Defendant Davis shall not interfere in any way, directly or indirectly, with the efforts of her deputy clerks to issue marriage licenses to all legally eligible couples. If Defendant Davis should interfere in any way with their issuance, that will be considered a violation of this order and appropriate sanctions will be considered."{{cite news |last=Volokh |first=Eugene |author-link=Eugene Volokh |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2015/09/08/kim-davis-released-from-jail-plus-more-on-her-requested-accommodation/ |title=Kim Davis released from jail, plus more on her requested accommodation |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=September 8, 2015 |access-date=September 8, 2015}}

Bunning's order also stated that Davis's deputy clerks must continue to comply with his earlier order to issue marriage licenses and to submit status reports to him every fourteen days confirming their compliance. The deputy clerks released statements pledging to continue issuing licenses after Davis's release and to ignore any order from her to do otherwise, complying with the federal judge's order.{{cite news |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/kentucky-clerk-kim-davis-deputy-marriage-licenses-same-sex-couples/ |title=Deputy Ky. clerk says he won't follow boss' defiance |publisher=CBS News |date=September 9, 2015 |access-date=September 9, 2015}} Licenses issued since Davis's refusal state that they are authorized by "the office of the Rowan County Clerk" but no longer bear her name.{{cite news |last=Ellis |first=Ronnie |url=http://www.themoreheadnews.com/news/deputy-clerk-promises-to-keep-federal-court-order/article_65c1df2c-5702-11e5-97e2-b7a7e712dd45.html |title=Deputy clerk promises to keep federal court order |work=The Morehead News |location=Morehead, Kentucky |date=September 9, 2015 |access-date=September 11, 2015 |archive-date=September 29, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190929004641/https://www.themoreheadnews.com/news/deputy-clerk-promises-to-keep-federal-court-order/article_65c1df2c-5702-11e5-97e2-b7a7e712dd45.html |url-status=dead }}{{cite news |last=Estep |first=Bill |title=Marriage licenses issued since Friday in Rowan County were altered to remove Kim Davis' name |date=September 8, 2015 |work=Lexington Herald-Leader |location=Lexington, Kentucky |url=http://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article42612753.html |access-date=September 12, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160420031103/http://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article42612753.html |archive-date=April 20, 2016}} Davis's supporters, gathered at the Rowan County Courthouse since her first day in custody, said that her deputies were unlawfully issuing licenses and should resign or be fired.{{cite news |last=Menville |first=Shayla |url=http://www.themoreheadnews.com/news/davis-supporters-call-for-removal-of-deputy-clerks/article_ef1b1ba6-5704-11e5-8fcf-e3ca8665c009.html |title=Davis Supporters Call for Removal of Deputy Clerks |work=The Morehead News |location=Morehead, Kentucky |date=September 9, 2015 |access-date=September 11, 2015 |archive-date=July 11, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190711062411/https://www.themoreheadnews.com/news/davis-supporters-call-for-removal-of-deputy-clerks/article_ef1b1ba6-5704-11e5-8fcf-e3ca8665c009.html |url-status=dead }}{{cite news |author=(Staff) |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-10/supporters-rally-behind-defiant-kentucky-clerk-kim-davis/6763660 |title=Kim Davis: Defiant Kentucky Clerk's Supporters Want Deputy Clerks Fired Over Marriage Licences Issued to Gays |work=The Morehead News |location=Morehead, Kentucky |date=September 11, 2015 |access-date=September 11, 2015}}{{efn|After Davis's release from jail, the Oath Keepers—an armed right-wing militia group—offered to provide a "security detail" to Davis to help prevent U.S. Marshals from re-arresting her for contempt. Davis declined the offer.{{cite news |last=Lowenberg |first=Olivia |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/USA-Update/2015/0912/Oath-Keepers-offer-Kim-Davis-a-security-detail-Who-are-they |title='Oath Keepers' offer Kim Davis a security detail: Who are they? |work=The Christian Science Monitor |date=September 12, 2015 |access-date=September 12, 2016}}{{cite news |author=(Staff) |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-kentucky-clerk-kim-davis-gay-marriage-licenses-20150911-story.html |title=Kentucky clerk rejects offer for armed militia protection against further detention |work=Chicago Tribune |date=September 12, 2015 |access-date=September 12, 2016}}}}

Davis returned to work a week later, on {{nowrap|September 14}}, 2015. She said that, while she would not interfere with any deputy clerk who issues marriage licenses, she would not personally issue or authorize any of the forms.{{cite news |last=Neuman |first=Scott |title=Kim Davis Back at Work, But Remains Defiant |publisher=NPR |date=September 14, 2015 |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/09/14/440215241/kim-davis-back-at-work-but-remains-defiant |access-date=September 14, 2015}} She created several altered versions of the Kentucky marriage license form and instructed her deputy clerks to use them, which had her name and reference to the clerk's office removed. The ACLU sued Davis separately for these form alterations, which they found to be of questionable legality.{{efn|The form alterations that the ACLU objected to were: 1. The phrase "in the office of" is struck. 2. The phrase "county clerk" is struck. 3. In place of her name, the form now says "Pursuant to Federal Court Order #15-CV-44 DLB". 4. In place of the title "deputy clerk", required on the form, it now reads "notary public".}} Governor Steve Beshear was asked by Bunning to brief the court on the validity of the licenses. Governor Beshear acknowledged that Kentucky would recognize the licenses being issued, but he could not verify the legality of the licenses issued or the means by which the marriage licenses were altered.{{cite news |last=Mosendz |first=Polly |url=http://www.newsweek.com/kim-davis-altered-marriage-licenses-375866 |title=How Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis Altered Marriage Licenses |work=Newsweek |date=September 24, 2015 |access-date=December 27, 2015}}{{cite news |last=Cheves |first=John |url=http://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article45066093.html |title=Marriage licenses altered by Kim Davis are valid, Beshear tells judge |work=Lexington Herald-Leader |location=Lexington, Kentucky |date=November 16, 2015 |access-date=December 27, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304080855/http://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article45066093.html |archive-date=March 4, 2016}} Bunning ultimately denied the ACLU's separate suit, stating the altered forms were likely legal and that Davis was now abiding by the court's order.{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/kentucky-clerk-kim-davis-obeying-orders-gay-marriage-case-judges-n515896 |title=Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis Obeying Orders in Gay Marriage Case, Judges Rules |publisher=NBC News |date=February 10, 2016 |access-date=April 8, 2016}}

While Davis remained inside her personal office, same-sex couples successfully walked out of the Rowan County clerk's office with their marriage licenses.{{cite news |first=Ronnie |last=Ellis |title=Davis put to test early, couple given license |date=September 14, 2015 |access-date=September 14, 2015 |work=The Morehead News |location=Morehead, Kentucky |url=http://www.themoreheadnews.com/news/davis-put-to-test-early-couple-given-license/article_a08079d6-5b1f-11e5-a11f-df3bad1d0724.html |archive-date=July 11, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190711054541/https://www.themoreheadnews.com/news/davis-put-to-test-early-couple-given-license/article_a08079d6-5b1f-11e5-a11f-df3bad1d0724.html |url-status=dead }}{{cite news |last1=Castillo |first1=Mariano |last2=Conlon |first2=Kevin |title=Kim Davis stands ground, but same-sex couple get marriage license |date=September 14, 2015 |publisher=CNN |url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/14/politics/kim-davis-same-sex-marriage-kentucky/ |access-date=September 14, 2015}} One of the applicants said, "My license is valid, and it's valid because of the court order that's in effect ... It doesn't have to have her signature."{{cite news |last1=Gutierrez |first1=Gabe |last2=McClam |first2=Erin |title=Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis Says She Won't Stop Deputies on Marriage Licenses |date=September 14, 2015 |publisher=NBC News |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/kentucky-clerk-kim-davis-says-she-wont-stop-deputies-marriage-n426836 |access-date=September 14, 2015}}

{{quote box |width=25em |align=right |quote=Government officials are free to disagree with the law, but not disobey it.|salign=right |source= —Kerry B. Harvey, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky{{cite news |last=Wolfson |first=Andrew |url=http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/crime/2015/09/02/kim-davis-lawyers-want-block-beshear-order/71597094/ |title=U.S. Attorney says Kim Davis should comply |date=September 2, 2015 |work=The Courier-Journal |location=Louisville, Kentucky |access-date=October 3, 2015}}{{cite news |first=Pete |last=Williams |title=Does Kim Davis, Kentucky Clerk Blocking Gay Marriages, Have Legal Grounds? |date=September 3, 2015 |access-date=September 4, 2015 |publisher=NBC News |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/does-kentucky-clerk-kim-davis-have-legal-leg-stand-n420606}}{{cite news |first=Andrew |last=Wolfson |title=U.S. Attorney says Kim Davis should comply |date=September 2, 2015 |access-date=September 3, 2015 |work=The Courier-Journal |location=Louisville, Kentucky |url=http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/crime/2015/09/02/kim-davis-lawyers-want-block-beshear-order/71597094/}}}}

Davis gained international attention after her refusal to issue marriage licenses and the ensuing controversy her actions caused.{{cite news |url=http://gazettereview.com/2015/09/kim-davis-released-from-jail/ |title=Kim Davis Released from Jail |work=Gazette Review |location=Minneapolis, Minnesota |date=September 8, 2015 |access-date=October 5, 2015 |last=Rose |first=Jeanne}}{{cite news |url=http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/religion/2015/10/01/locals-condemn-praise-davis-visit-pope/73152938/ |title=Locals condemn, praise Davis' visit with pope |work=The Courier-Journal |location=Louisville, Kentucky |date=October 2, 2015 |access-date=October 5, 2015 |last=Wolfson |first=Andrew}}{{cite news |url=http://www.richmondregister.com/news/hundreds-pray-for-davis-at-carter-jail/article_2e1a54bc-5443-11e5-9311-17959f8b4ec8.html |title=Hundreds pray for Davis at Carter jail |work=Richmond Register |location=Richmond, Kentucky |date=September 5, 2015 |access-date=October 5, 2015 |last=Bellamy |first=Lana}}{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/08/20/judge-dismisses-civil-suits-against-kim-davis/89043068/ |title=Judge dismisses civil suits against Kim Davis |date=August 20, 2016 |work=USA Today |access-date=June 3, 2017}}{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-kentucky-lgbt-idUSKCN0Z728Q |title=Kentucky clerk opposed to gay marriage says state law negates appeal |date=June 21, 2016 |work=Reuters |access-date=June 3, 2017}}{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/sep/03/tennessee-judge-denies-straight-couple-divorce-same-sex-marriage-ruling |title=Tennessee judge denies straight couple divorce, citing gay marriage ruling |first=Mahita |last=Gajanan |date=September 3, 2015 |work=The Guardian |access-date=June 3, 2017}} Many legal experts asserted that Davis had no standing under the law to refuse to issue the licenses. Columbia Law School professor Katherine Franke said, "Kim Davis has all sorts of religious liberty rights secured under the First Amendment and under other laws, but they are not at stake in this case. All she's asked to do with couples that come before her is certify that they've met the state requirements for marriage, so her religious opposition to same-sex marriage is absolutely irrelevant."{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/2015/09/01/436673707/law-professor-davis-cant-evoke-religion-to-deny-marriage-licenses |title=Law Professor: Davis Can't Evoke Religion To Deny Marriage Licenses |date=September 1, 2015 |publisher=NPR |access-date=September 7, 2015}} Professor Stephen Vladeck of American University's Washington College of Law said that Davis "waived any right to have an objection to issuing same-sex marriage licenses when she ran for the job". Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin and others compared Davis's refusal to follow orders of the U.S. Supreme Court to Alabama Governor George Wallace's futile "Stand in the Schoolhouse Door" protest of desegregation in 1963.{{cite news |last=Rubin |first=Jennifer |author-link=Jennifer Rubin (journalist)|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2015/09/04/trashing-the-rule-of-law/ |title=Trashing the rule of law |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=September 4, 2015 |access-date=September 4, 2015}}{{cite news |last=Graham |first=Renée |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2015/09/03/renee-graham-kim-davis-follows-footsteps-george-wallace/4Hqsf6bhQoXMwhjLu0cMLO/story.html |title=Kim Davis follows the footsteps of George Wallace |work=Boston Globe |date=September 3, 2015 |access-date=September 4, 2015}} The Human Rights Campaign, a national LGBT civil rights group, said, "Ms. Davis has the fundamental right to believe what she likes ... but as a public servant, she does not have the right to pick and choose which laws she will follow or which services she will provide." Attorney and author Roberta A. Kaplan, who argued for the plaintiffs in United States v. Windsor, wrote that "Kim Davis is the clearest example of someone who wants to use a religious liberty argument to discriminate, yet she swore an oath to uphold the Constitution. It is laughable that she can then decide which laws to enforce, which is why every decision in her case has gone against her."{{cite news |last=Bromberger |first=Brian |date=October 15, 2015 |title=New book details Windsor Supreme Court victory |work=Bay Area Reporter |location=San Francisco Bay Area |url=http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=70989 |access-date=October 16, 2015 }}

Opposition to the federal ruling came from political columnists William McGurn of The Wall Street Journal and Ray Nothstine of The Christian Post.{{cite news |last=McGurn |first=William |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-must-kim-davis-be-jailed-1441666727 |title=Why Must Kim Davis Be Jailed? A federal judge chose the nuclear option instead of finding a reasonable accommodation. |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=September 7, 2015 |access-date=September 9, 2015}}{{cite news |last=Nothstine |first=Ray |url=http://www.christianpost.com/news/will-more-clerks-be-going-to-jail-2nd-christian-kentucky-clerk-defies-ruling-to-issue-marriage-licenses-to-gay-couples-144556/ |title=Will More Clerks Be Going to Jail? 2nd Christian Kentucky Clerk Defies Ruling to Issue Marriage Licenses to Gay Couples |work=The Christian Post |date=September 4, 2015 |access-date=September 9, 2015}} Law professor Eugene Volokh suggested that the Kentucky's state religious freedom restoration act might compel the state to accommodate Davis's religious beliefs and argued that state courts have the authority to order the removal of Davis's name from marriage licenses.{{cite news |first=Eugene |last=Volokh |author-link=Eugene Volokh |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2015/09/04/when-does-your-religion-legally-excuse-you-from-doing-part-of-your-job/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |title=When does your religion legally excuse you from doing part of your job? |date=September 4, 2015 |access-date=September 12, 2015}} Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers also came to Davis's defense; he stated, in an amicus brief filed in federal court, that the "Supreme Court ruling has completely obliterated the definition of marriage".{{cite news |author=(Staff) |url=http://www.whas11.com/news/local/senate-president-stivers-files-amicus-brief-in-rowan-county-clerk-case/169327498 |title=Senate President Stivers files amicus brief in Rowan County clerk case |date=September 2, 2015 |publisher=WHAS-TV |location=Louisville, Kentucky |access-date=September 7, 2015}} Liberty Counsel, the law firm defending Davis, stated, "Kim Davis is being treated as a criminal because she cannot violate her conscience",{{cite web |title=Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis Jailed for Her Conscience |date=September 3, 2015 |publisher=Liberty Counsel |url=http://www.lc.org/index.cfm?PID=14100&PRID=1585 |access-date=September 3, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20150904013526/http://www.lc.org/index.cfm?PID=14100&PRID=1585 |archive-date=September 4, 2015 }} stating also that she refused to accept a proposed compromise where she would no longer be found in contempt if she agreed not to interfere with her deputies issuing licenses to same-sex couples.

Reactions against Davis also came from the White House, from Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear, and from candidates in the race for the 2016 presidential election. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said, "No public official is above the rule of law. Certainly not the president of the United States, but neither is the Rowan County clerk."{{cite news |last=Meyer |first=Ken |title=Josh Earnest Responds to KY Clerk's Jailing: 'No Public Official Is Above the Rule of Law' |date=September 3, 2015 |work=Mediaite |url=http://www.mediaite.com/online/josh-earnest-responds-to-ky-clerks-jailing-no-public-official-is-above-the-rule-of-law/ |access-date=September 7, 2015}} Governor Beshear said the judge's decision "speaks for itself",{{cite news |first=Tom |last=Loftus |title=Beshear: Decision on Kim Davis 'speaks for itself' |date=September 3, 2015 |work=The Courier-Journal |location=Louisville, Kentucky |url=http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/2015/09/03/beshear-firm-no-kim-davis-special-session/71662670/ |access-date=October 3, 2015}}{{cite news |last=Peralta |first=Eyder |title=Despite High Court Ruling, Kentucky Clerk Denies Marriage Licenses |date=September 1, 2015 |publisher=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/09/01/436557085/despite-high-court-ruling-kentucky-clerk-denies-gay-marriage-licences |access-date=September 7, 2015}}{{cite news |author=(Staff) |title=Beshear: Kim Davis' future in courts' hands; 'I have no legal authority' to remove her from office |date=September 2, 2015 |work=Northern Kentucky Tribune |location=Edgewood, Kentucky |url=http://www.nkytribune.com/2015/09/beshear-kim-davis-future-in-courts-hands-i-have-no-legal-authority-to-remove-her-from-office/ |access-date=September 7, 2015}} while his attorneys called the legal arguments in her suit against him "absurd".{{cite news |author=(Staff) |title=Beshear: Kim Davis's legal arguments 'absurd' |date=October 1, 2015 |work=The Courier-Journal |location=Louisville, Kentucky |url=http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2015/10/01/beshear-kim-daviss-legal-arguments-absurd/73135720/ |access-date=October 3, 2015}} Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said, "Officials should be held to their duty to uphold the law – end of story."{{cite news |last=Byrnes |first=Jesse |title=Clinton: Officials should 'uphold the law' |date=September 3, 2015 |work=The Hill |url=https://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/252739-clinton-officials-should-uphold-the-law/ |access-date=September 7, 2015}}{{cite news |last=Gehrke |first=Joel |title=Jeb Bush: Kim Davis Is 'Sworn to Uphold the Law' |date=September 4, 2015 |work=National Review |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/article/423555/jeb-bush-kim-davis-sworn-uphold-law-joel-gehrke |access-date=September 7, 2015}} Several Republican presidential candidates also called on Davis to comply with court orders. Donald Trump said, "the decision's been made, and that is the law of the land."{{cite news |last=Sherfinski |first=David |title=Donald Trump on Kim Davis case: 'The Supreme Court has ruled' |date=September 4, 2015 |work=The Hill |url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/sep/4/donald-trump-kim-davis-case-supreme-court-has-rule/ |access-date=September 7, 2015}}{{cite news |last=Sherfinski |first=David |title=Donald Trump on Kentucky clerk: Same-sex marriage the 'law of the land' |date=September 7, 2015 |publisher=CNN |url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/04/politics/donald-trump-gay-marriage-kentucky-clerk-kim-davis/ |access-date=September 7, 2015}} Jeb Bush, former governor of Florida, said Davis "is sworn to uphold the law", but also suggested that some sort of accommodation be made for her. Republican presidential candidates Carly Fiorina and Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina both suggested that Davis should comply with the court order or resign.{{cite news |last=Israel |first=Josh |title=Only 2 Republican Candidates Think Kim Davis Needs To Quit Or Follow The Law |date=September 3, 2015 |work=ThinkProgress |url=http://thinkprogress.org/election/2015/09/03/3698273/republican-candidates-anti-gay-kentucky-clerk/ |access-date=September 7, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905005547/http://thinkprogress.org/election/2015/09/03/3698273/republican-candidates-anti-gay-kentucky-clerk/ |archive-date=September 5, 2015}}

Several national Republican politicians supported Davis. Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, said that the Kim Davis affair was part of a "criminalization of Christianity" and organized a rally for Davis outside the jail where she had been held.{{cite news |last=Hanna |first=Jason |title=Kim Davis released, but judge bars her from withholding marriage licenses: At rally, Republican presidential hopeful takes center stage |date=September 8, 2015 |publisher=CNN |url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/08/politics/kim-davis-same-sex-marriage-kentucky/ |access-date=September 8, 2015}} Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, another Republican presidential candidate, said that Davis was a victim of "judicial tyranny" and attended the same rally.{{cite news |last=Sneed |first=Tierney |title=Ted Cruz: 'I Stand With Kim Davis' |date=September 3, 2015 |work=Talking Points Memo |url=http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/ted-cruz-kim-davis-contempt |access-date=September 4, 2015}} Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, also presidential candidates, both voiced their support for Davis.{{cite news |last=Byrnes |first=Jesse |title=GOP candidates blast 'absurd' jailing of Kentucky marriage clerk |date=September 3, 2015 |work=The Hill |url=https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/252732-gop-candidates-blast-absurd-jailing-of-kentucky-marriage-clerk/ |access-date=September 7, 2015}} Matt Bevin, the Republican nominee for Kentucky governor in the 2015 election, said a simple solution to Davis's plight is for the government to stop providing marriage contracts.{{cite news |author=(Staff) |title=Matt Bevin Responds to Kim Davis' Arrest |date=September 3, 2015 |work=WTVQ-DT |location=Lexington, Kentucky |url=http://www.wtvq.com/2015/09/03/matt-bevin-responds-to-kim-daviss-arrest/ |access-date=September 7, 2015}}{{cite news |author=(Staff) |title=Matt Bevin calls on Governor Steve Beshear to uphold Kentuckians' individual liberties |date=September 3, 2015 |publisher=WBKO |location=Bowling Green, Kentucky |url=http://www.wbko.com/news/headlines/Matt-Bevin-calls-on-Governor-Steve-Beshear-to-uphold-Kentuckians-individual-liberties-313488111.html |access-date=September 7, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925124927/http://www.wbko.com/news/headlines/Matt-Bevin-calls-on-Governor-Steve-Beshear-to-uphold-Kentuckians-individual-liberties-313488111.html |archive-date=September 25, 2015}}

A survey of American adults conducted by YouGov in September 2015 found that 56% supported Judge Bunning's decision to jail Davis for contempt of court, while 31% of Americans opposed the decision.{{cite web |first=Peter |last=Moore |title=Majority of public back jailing Kim Davis |date=September 9, 2015 |access-date=September 10, 2015 |publisher=YouGov |via=Amazon CloudFront |url=https://today.yougov.com/news/2015/09/09/majority-public-back-jailing-kim-davis/}}{{cite web |title=1000 Adult Interviews |date=September 9, 2015 |access-date=September 10, 2015 |publisher=YouGov |via=Amazon CloudFront |url=https://d25d2506sfb94s.cloudfront.net/cumulus_uploads/document/c073585k3w/toplines_OPI_Kentucky_Clerk_20150908.pdf}} When asked what Davis should do, 65% said that Davis should resign from office; 23% said that Davis should stay in office and continue to refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples; and 4% said that Davis should remain in office but issue licenses to all persons legally entitled to one.

Other court clerks in the U.S. have also refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The probate judges of several counties in Alabama have stopped issuing marriage licenses to anyone. Probate Judge Nick Williams of Washington County, Alabama, said he stopped issuing licenses altogether to avoid discrimination and said, "I completely disagree with the authority the Supreme Court has."{{cite news |last=Gutierrez |first=Gabe |date=September 9, 2015 |title=Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis Isn't Kentucky's Only Gay Marriage Holdout |publisher=NBC News |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/why-arent-other-defiant-kentucky-clerks-joining-kim-davis-jail-n423496 |access-date=September 19, 2015}} Probate Judge John Enslen of Elmore County, Alabama, said the federal government, not state probate offices, should be the entity issuing same-sex marriage licenses.{{cite news |last=Phillips |first=Ryan |date=October 9, 2015 |title=Alabama probate judge says federal government should issue same-sex marriage licenses |work=Birmingham Business Journal |location=Birmingham, Alabama |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/birmingham/news/2015/10/09/alabama-probate-judge-says-federal-government.html |access-date=October 9, 2015}} Casey Davis (unrelated to Kim Davis), a clerk in Casey County, Kentucky, said, "We've not tried to prevent same-sex marriages, we've only tried to exercise our First Amendment rights," adding that such applicants could apply in other counties.{{cite news |last=Camerota |first=Alisyn |date=September 1, 2015 |title=Kentucky clerk: There is a power above man's laws |publisher=CNN |url=http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2015/09/01/same-sex-marriage-kentucky-clerk-casey-davis-bts-newday.cnn/video/playlists/gay-rights-movement/ |access-date=September 19, 2015}} Kay Schwartz, a clerk in Whitley County, Kentucky, felt oppressed: "There's a law against bullying ... Why take away the majority's right [just] to give the minority their rights?"{{cite news |last=Bowman |first=Brad |date=September 2, 2015 |title=Defiant county clerks standing ground on gay marriage issue |work=The State Journal |location=Frankfort, Kentucky |url=http://www.state-journal.com/2015/09/02/defiant-county-clerks-standing-ground-on-gay-marriage-issue/ |access-date=September 19, 2015 |archive-date=March 6, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170306025440/http://www.state-journal.com/2015/09/02/defiant-county-clerks-standing-ground-on-gay-marriage-issue/ |url-status=dead }} She suggested the possibility of other options to meet the needs of same-sex applicants, such as an online service. The ACLU has no plans for legal action against other court clerks or probate judges. National attention has not been on them as the ACLU brought no case against them, speculated University of Kentucky political science professor D. B. Riggle: "The action in Rowan County may be in part due to the availability of plaintiffs for a case."

{{quote box |width=25em |align=right |quote=You asked why I couldn't issue you a marriage license, and I'm explaining to you, I'm showing you why I cannot. They didn't want to hear that, though. They wanted to shove that paper down my throat and make me eat it for my dinner.|salign=right |source= —Kim Davis, May 2016{{cite news |last=Wong |first=Curtis M. |title=Kim Davis: Gay Couples Tried to 'Make Me Eat' SCOTUS Ruling for Dinner |date=May 22, 2016 |work=HuffPost |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kim-davis-gay-couples-tried-to-make-me-eat-scotus-ruling-for-dinner_us_573f561ae4b00e09e89efd2c |access-date=May 22, 2016}}}}

Under Kentucky law, a commonwealth's attorney has the power to indict various local officials including "judges-executives, justices of the peace, sheriffs, coroners, surveyors, jailers, county attorneys and constables" for "malfeasance in office or willful neglect in the discharge of official duties" (an offense punishable by removal from office and a fine of up to $1,000); however, the statute doesn't include county clerks. USA Today writer Andrew Wolfson blamed "some reason lost to history" for the omission. Because Davis is an elected official, she cannot simply be fired.{{cite news |first=Andrew |last=Wolfson |title=Q&A: Why hasn't Ky. clerk been fired in gay marriage license case? |date=September 2, 2015 |access-date=September 3, 2015 |work=USA Today |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/09/02/qa-ky-clerk-gay-marriage-license-case/71567812/}} For Davis to have been removed from the office of county clerk, impeachment proceedings would have had to have been initiated by the Kentucky House of Representatives and charges for impeachment brought to the Kentucky Senate.

After being denied a license four times, one couple asked the Rowan County Attorney's Office to investigate Davis for official misconduct, a misdemeanor under Kentucky law.{{cite news |first=Adam |last=Beam |title=Deputy to Kim Davis promises to continue issuing marriage licenses in Rowan County |date=September 9, 2015 |access-date=September 10, 2015 |work=Lexington Herald-Leader |location=Lexington, Kentucky |url=http://www.kentucky.com/news/state/kentucky/article42612906.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160507163439/http://www.kentucky.com/news/state/kentucky/article42612906.html |archive-date=May 7, 2016}}{{cite news |author=(Staff) |url=http://www.richmondregister.com/news/police-courts/misconduct-charge-against-davis-referred-to-ag/article_ae69bfec-4eba-11e5-b29d-8788b6e5d7c0.html?mode=jqm |title=Misconduct charge against Davis referred to AG |date=August 31, 2015 |work=Richmond Register |location=Richmond, Kentucky |access-date=August 31, 2015}} Official misconduct in the first degree is a Class A misdemeanor and is punishable with imprisonment not to exceed 12 months and fines of $500. The Rowan County Attorney's Office is prohibited from prosecuting Davis; Rowan County Attorney Cecil Watkins referred the official misconduct complaint to the Kentucky Attorney General's office, led by Attorney General Jack Conway.{{cite news |last=Thornton |first=Hillary |title='Official misconduct charge' against Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis referred to attorney general |date=August 29, 2015 |publisher=WKYT-TV |location=Lexington, Kentucky |url=http://www.wkyt.com/home/headlines/Supporters-opponents-gather-outside-Rowan-County-clerks-office-323227931.html |access-date=August 28, 2015 |archive-date=August 29, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150829192032/http://www.wkyt.com/home/headlines/Supporters-opponents-gather-outside-Rowan-County-clerks-office-323227931.html |url-status=dead }}{{cite news |author=(Staff) |url=http://www.lex18.com/story/29910789/rowan-county-attys-office-refers-charge-of-official-misconduct-against-clerk |title=Rowan County Atty's Office Refers Charge of Official Misconduct |date=August 28, 2015 |publisher=WLEX-TV |location=Lexington, Kentucky |access-date=August 28, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150830103056/http://www.lex18.com/story/29910789/rowan-county-attys-office-refers-charge-of-official-misconduct-against-clerk |archive-date=August 30, 2015 |url-status=dead }}{{cite news |last1=Wolfson |first1=Andrew |last2=Wynn |first2=Mike |url=http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2015/08/31/clerk-could-face-criminal-prosecution/71463078/ |title=Rowan clerk Kim Davis loses Supreme Court fight |date=August 31, 2015 |work=The Courier-Journal |location=Louisville, Kentucky |access-date=September 6, 2015}} The Kentucky Attorney General's office conducted a review,{{cite magazine |url=https://time.com/4018999/kentucky-clerk-kim-davis-same-sex-marriage/ |title=What's Next for the Kentucky Clerk Who Won't Issue Gay Marriage Licenses? |last=Sanburn |first=Josh |date=September 1, 2015 |magazine=Time |access-date=September 1, 2015}} and Conway issued a statement saying, "We are a nation of laws, and no one can defy an order from a federal judge."{{cite news |last=Conway |first=Jack |author-link=Jack Conway (politician) |url=http://kentucky.gov/Pages/Activity-Stream.aspx?viewMode=ViewDetailInNewPage&eventID={C457AE5C-5CF0-4C8D-92D9-92DAF9EA27FA}&activityType=PressRelease |title=Statement from Attorney General Conway |date=September 3, 2015 |publisher=The State of Kentucky |access-date=September 6, 2015}} Conway then issued a one-sentence statement saying that he would not appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Davis.{{cite news |first=Andrew |last=Wolfson |title=Conway: No special prosecutor for Kim Davis |date=September 10, 2015 |access-date=September 11, 2015 |work=The Courier-Journal |location=Louisville, Kentucky |url=http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2015/09/10/conway-no-special-prosecutor-kim-davis/72014942/}}

Months after Davis's office began issuing same-sex marriage licenses, Davis's lawyers filed a motion asking the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit to overturn four of Judge Bunning's decisions, calling them a "rush to judgment" that "imposed direct pressure and substantial burden on Davis, forcing her to choose between her religious beliefs and forfeiting her essential personal freedom on one hand, or abandoning those beliefs to keep her freedom on the other hand".{{cite news |author=(Staff) |title=Kim Davis Heads Back To Court |date=November 4, 2015 |work=HuffPost |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kim-davis-appeals-jail_us_563a1d53e4b0411d306ef387 |access-date=November 6, 2015}} The court denied the motion on November 5.{{cite news |author=(Staff) |title=Kentucky: Defiant Clerk Loses Again |date=November 5, 2015 |access-date=November 6, 2015 |work=The New York Times |agency=Associated Press |url=http://nyti.ms/1PqSMz7}} Davis's lawyers filed their last appeal the next day, requesting a delay in issuing marriage licenses to same sex couples, arguing that previous decisions should apply only to the four couples to whom Davis's office was initially ordered to issue licenses. The appeal also asked the sixth circuit court of appeals to overturn a previous ruling that had sent Davis to jail for failure to comply.{{cite news |last=Connolly |first=Amy R. |title=Kentucky clerk Kim Davis loses latest gay marriage appeal |date=November 6, 2015 |work=United Press International |url=http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2015/11/06/Kentucky-clerk-Kim-Davis-loses-latest-gay-marriage-appeal/5041446822266/ |access-date=November 26, 2015}} This final appeal was denied two days later by the court.{{cite news |title=Kentucky clerk Kim Davis loses latest gay marriage appeal |date=November 5, 2015 |agency=Associated Press |url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/599776ea9b3f408483387e81aedc2c96/kentucky-clerk-kim-davis-loses-latest-gay-marriage-appeal |access-date=November 26, 2015 |archive-date=December 8, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208073351/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/599776ea9b3f408483387e81aedc2c96/kentucky-clerk-kim-davis-loses-latest-gay-marriage-appeal |url-status=dead }}

In March 2016, the Campaign for Accountability (CfA), a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit group, made a request to Davis for access to public records under the Kentucky Open Records Act, seeking copies of retainer agreements and lawyer-client engagement agreements between Davis and her attorneys at Liberty Counsel.{{cite news |last=Cheves |first=John |url=http://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article87724492.html |title=Kim Davis violated Open Records Act, attorney general says |work=Lexington Herald-Leader |location=Lexington, Kentucky |date=July 5, 2016 |access-date=September 15, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160706151515/http://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article87724492.html |archive-date=July 6, 2016 }}{{cite news |last=Watkins |first=Morgan |url=http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/2016/07/05/ag-opinion-kim-davis-violated-open-records-act/86723282/ |title=AG opinion: Kim Davis violated Open Records Act |work=The Courier-Journal |location=Louisville, Kentucky |date=July 6, 2016 |access-date=September 15, 2016}} Liberty Counsel, which responded to the request on Davis's behalf, refused to comply, arguing that the documents were preliminary and private records are not subject to the Act. CfA appealed to the Office of the Kentucky Attorney General, which under Kentucky law has the authority to make binding rulings on the Open Records Act, and resubmitted its request to Davis's office in April 2016. The Attorney General's Office sought to privately review the records at issue to determine if an exemption applied, but Liberty Counsel refused to make most of the documents available for a private review. In an opinion issued on June 30, 2016, the Attorney General's Office determined that Davis had violated the Open Records Act, saying that her conduct had the effect of "intentionally frustrating the attorney general's review of an open records request" which "would subvert the General Assembly's intent behind providing review by the attorney general."

One of the first acts of newly elected Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin was an executive order to remove clerks' names from the state marriage licenses. Bevin expressed his hope on November 6, 2015, that the executive order will protect the religious beliefs of officials who are opposed to gay marriage.{{cite news |url=http://www.ibtimes.com/amid-kim-davis-backlash-kentucky-gov-elect-matt-bevin-remove-clerks-names-state-2173662 |title=Amid Kim Davis Backlash, Kentucky Gov.-Elect Matt Bevin To Remove Clerks' Names From State Marriage Licenses |last=Michelle |first=Mark |work=International Business Times |date=November 6, 2015 |access-date=December 28, 2015}}{{cite news |url=http://www.charismanews.com/us/54026-kentucky-governor-honors-sincerely-held-religious-beliefs |title=Kentucky Governor Gives Kim Davis a 'Wonderful Christmas Gift' |last=Bittenbender |first=Steve |work=Charisma |date=December 23, 2015 |access-date=December 28, 2015}} Kim Davis and her attorneys at Liberty Counsel immediately requested that the court dismiss her appeals, because the new regulation provides a religious accommodation for her and makes the case moot.{{cite news |author=(Staff) |title=Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis requests marriage license appeals be dismissed |publisher=WKYT-TV |location=Lexington, Kentucky |date=June 21, 2016 |url=http://www.wkyt.com/content/news/Rowan-County-Clerk-Kim-Davis-requests-marriage-license-appeals-be-dismissed-383807601.html |access-date=May 7, 2016}} Bunning agreed, dismissing the three lawsuits filed against her, saying the new governor's order to use a license form that does not require the county clerk's signature has removed the controversy before the court.{{cite news |last=Loftus |first=Tom |title=Judge dismisses civil suits against Kim Davis |date=August 20, 2016 |work=USA Today |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/08/20/judge-dismisses-civil-suits-against-kim-davis/89043068/ |access-date=October 2, 2016}}{{cite news |author=(Staff) |url=http://www.charismanews.com/us/59396-victory-at-last-kim-davis-has-won-the-fight-for-religious-freedom |title=Victory at Last! Kim Davis Has Won the Fight for Religious Freedom |date=August 19, 2016 |work=Charisma |access-date=October 2, 2016}}{{cite news |last=Provenzano |first=Brianna |url=https://mic.com/articles/152148/all-3-lawsuits-against-kim-davis-were-just-dismissed-by-a-federal-judge |title=All 3 lawsuits against Kim Davis were just dismissed by a federal judge |date=August 20, 2016 |publisher=Mic |access-date=October 2, 2016}}{{cite news |last=Farias |first=Cristian |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kim-davis-gay-marriage-lawsuit_us_576968d9e4b087b70be5f8bd |title=Kim Davis Wants The Law To Forget That Time She Defied The Supreme Court on Gay Marriage |date=June 21, 2016 |work=HuffPost |access-date=October 2, 2016}} One of the plaintiff couples who were denied marriage licenses from Davis contacted Bunning, requesting they be allowed to recoup $230,000 in legal fees. Davis's attorneys asserted that their legislative victory resolves the matter; the couples did not prevail against Davis, therefore they are not entitled to demand that Davis reimburse their legal fees. Separately, Rowan County filed a response contending that the county government should never have to pay for the actions of a single county clerk.{{cite news |last=Cheves |first=John |url=http://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article112014812.html |title=Couples who sued Kim Davis to get married now want to hand her the bill |work=Lexington Herald-Leader |location=Lexington, Kentucky |date=November 2, 2016 |access-date=November 5, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161103130133/http://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article112014812.html |archive-date=November 3, 2016 }} Then, by May 2017, a Cincinnati federal appeals court found that Bunning had erred in finding that damages claims by plaintiff couple David Ermold and David Moore became moot, saying, "The district court's characterization of this case as simply contesting the 'no marriage licenses' policy is inaccurate, because Ermold and Moore did not seek an injunction—they sought only damages"; observing that the record does not prevent damages claims. The three-judge panel granted leave for the couple to sue for damages over one marriage license.{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-kentucky-marriage-idUSKBN17Y29Y |title=Same-sex couple can seek damages from Kentucky clerk: U.S. appeals court |date=May 2, 2017 |work=Reuters}} Their case was sent back to Bunning, where he stated that the state of Kentucky was obligated to pay $222,000 in legal fees.{{cite news |last=Held |first=Amy |title=Kentucky Must Pay Attorney Fees For Couples Who Sued Kim Davis, Judge Says | date=July 21, 2017 |publisher=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/07/21/538592022/kentucky-must-pay-attorney-fees-for-couples-who-sued-kim-davis-says-judge |access-date=July 21, 2017}} The ACLU itself sued Davis to recover $233,000 in legal fees,{{cite news |last=Ring |first=Trudy |title=ACLU Sues Kim Davis and Her County for $233K in Legal Fees |date=September 20, 2016 |work=The Advocate |url=http://www.advocate.com/marriage-equality/2016/9/20/aclu-sues-kim-davis-and-her-county-233k-legal-fees |access-date=September 25, 2016}}{{cite news |last=Patterson |first=Fadia |url=http://www.wtvq.com/2016/09/20/aclu-lawyers-sue-kim-davis-legal-fees/ |title=ACLU Lawyers Sue Kim Davis Over Legal Fees |work=WTVQ-DT |location=Lexington, Kentucky |date=September 20, 2016 |access-date=September 25, 2016}} but the motion was denied; the organization was not a "prevailing party" in the legal action.{{cite news |last=D'Angelo |first=Chris |title=Judge Denies ACLU's Motion To Recoup Legal Fees From Marriage Equality Battle |date=March 7, 2017 |work=HuffPost |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/judge-denies-aclu-motion-legal-fees-kim-davis_us_58bddd86e4b033be1467c36a |access-date=May 20, 2017}}{{cite web |url=http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca6/16-6412/16-6412-2017-05-02.html |title=Ermold v. Davis, No. 16-6412 (6th Cir. 2017) |access-date=June 3, 2017}}

In July 2017, Davis was again sued for failing to issue a marriage license. The plaintiff, {{visible anchor|Mark Sevier}}, a Vanderbilt University Law School graduate, was denied a license to marry a laptop computer.{{cite news |title=Kim Davis Facing Lawsuit for Denying a Man a License to Marry His Laptop Computer |last=Zaimov |first=Stoyan |work=The Christian Post | location=Washington D.C. |date=July 7, 2016 |url=http://www.christianpost.com/news/kim-davis-lawsuit-denying-man-license-marry-laptop-computer-166140/ |access-date=September 27, 2017}}{{cite news |title=Kim Davis sued for denying man license to marry his laptop |publisher=WKYT-TV |location=Lexington, Kentucky |date=July 5, 2017 |url=http://www.wkyt.com/content/news/Kim-Davis-sued-for-denying-man-license-to-marry-his-laptop-385614681.html |access-date=September 27, 2017}} A similar Florida lawsuit was dismissed in May.{{cite news |title=Florida judge won't let man marry porn-filled computer |work=Orlando Sentinel |location=Orlando, Florida |url=http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/gone-viral/os-marry-porn-computer-20140508-post.html |access-date=September 27, 2017}}

By February 2019, Governor Bevin formally rejected the idea of Kentucky bearing the $222,000 financial responsibility, insisting the amount should be paid by Kim Davis alone. "Only Davis refused to comply with the law" Bevin stated through his attorneys, insisting taxpayers "should not have to collectively bear the financial responsibility for Davis's intransigence."{{cite news |last=Beam |first=Adam |title=Gov. Bevin, Kentucky clerk at odds over attorneys' fees |date=January 30, 2019 |work=Associated Press |url=https://www.apnews.com/67650ab16e6343869744e9c8fc9600af |access-date=February 6, 2019}} However, Bunning issued a preliminary injunction ordering the state of Kentucky to pay her legal fees, writing that "Davis represented the Commonwealth of Kentucky when she refused to issue marriage licenses to legally eligible couples. The buck stops there."{{cite web |url=https://www.aclu.org/cases/miller-v-davis |title=Miller v. Davis |website=American Civil Liberties Union}}{{cite web |url=https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2017/07/21/judge-rowan-county-must-pay-226-695-attorneys-fees-same-sex-couples-who-sued-clerk-kim-davis/499280001/ |title=Taxpayers on hook for Kentucky clerk Kim Davis' fight against gay marriage |first=Andrew |last=Wolfson |website=The Courier-Journal}}{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/07/21/538592022/kentucky-must-pay-attorney-fees-for-couples-who-sued-kim-davis-says-judge |title=Kentucky Must Pay Attorney Fees For Couples Who Sued Kim Davis, Judge Says|website=NPR |date=July 21, 2017 |last1=Held |first1=Amy }} Local reporting acknowledged that Bevin had previously backed her refusal to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.{{cite web |url=https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/2019/01/31/matt-bevin-lawyer-kim-davis-must-pay-kentuckys-legal-fees/2726990002/ |title=Matt Bevin praised Kim Davis, but now his lawyers want her to pay up |first=Andrew |last=Wolfson |website=The Courier-Journal}}{{cite web |url=https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/2015/09/01/matt-bevin-defends-rowan-clerk-kim-davis/71514564/ |title=Kim Davis gets Matt Bevin's 'absolute' backing |first=Phillip M. |last=Bailey |website=The Courier-Journal}} On August 23, 2019, the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati upheld Bunning's decision ordering Kentucky to pay the $225,000 legal bill from the Kim Davis case.{{cite web | last=Cheves | first=John | title=Kentucky must pay $225,000 legal bill from Kim Davis case, appeals court says | website=Lexington Herald-Leader | date=August 23, 2019 | url=https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article234313792.html | access-date=August 26, 2019}}

Bunning ruled on March 18, 2022, that Davis violated the constitutional rights in both the Miller and Ermold cases, in light of the Supreme Court's Obergefell decision, stating that she "cannot use her own constitutional rights as a shield to violate the constitutional rights of others while performing her duties as an elected official." The decision allowed the plaintiffs in Miller and Ermold to continue to seek legal fees and potentially other damages from Davis through a jury trial.{{cite web | url = https://apnews.com/article/same-sex-marriage-licenses-federal-lawsuit-kim-davis-9b7d9a257d4637c4e8d3fb4b11c55a34 | title = Judge: Same-sex marriage license denials violated rights | first = Jonathan | last = Mattise | date = March 18, 2022 | accessdate = March 19, 2022 | work = Associated Press }}

On September 13, 2023, a jury ordered Davis to pay Ermold and Moore $100,000 in damages.{{Cite web |last=Henderson |first=Jennifer |date=2023-09-14 |title=Same-sex couple in Kentucky denied marriage licenses from county clerk awarded $100,000 in damages |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/14/us/kentucky-same-sex-couple-kim-davis-lawsuit/index.html |access-date=2023-09-18 |website=CNN |language=en}} On December 28, to what Davis must pay, Bunning added $246,026.40 in attorneys’ fees and $14,058.30 in attorneys' expenses. The Liberty Counsel, which represents Davis, has stated they will file a motion to reverse the jury's verdict and overturn Bunning's decision.{{Cite web |last=Wymer |first=Garrett |date=2024-01-02 |title=Judge: Kim Davis owes $250k in attorneys' fees |url=https://www.wkyt.com/2024/01/02/judge-kim-davis-owes-250k-attorneys-fees/ |access-date=2024-01-03 |website=WKYT |language=en}}

File:Canonization 2014-The Canonization of Saint John XXIII and Saint John Paul II (14037015405).jpg visited the U.S. in September 2015.]]

Within a few weeks of Davis's release from jail, Davis announced she and her husband had met with Pope Francis on September 24, 2015, at the Apostolic Nunciature to the United States in Washington, D.C., during the Pope's U.S. visit in September 2015.{{cite news |title=Pope Francis meets with Kim Davis, enters culture war |date=October 1, 2015 |url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/30/us/kim-davis-pope/ |publisher=CNN |access-date=February 19, 2016}}{{cite news |title=Kim Davis speaks out on meeting Pope Francis |date=September 30, 2015 |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/kim-davis-pope-francis-visit-washington-dc/ |publisher=CBS News |access-date=February 19, 2016}} According to Davis and her lawyer, the pope told Davis to "stay strong" and gave her two rosaries.{{cite news |title=Kim Davis, Kentucky County Clerk, Met Pope Francis |url=http://nyti.ms/1VqFnH8 |work=The New York Times |date=September 30, 2015 |access-date=September 30, 2015 |first=Laurie |last=Goodstein}}{{cite news |last1=Eversley |first1=Melanie |last2=Bacon |first2=John |title=Vatican confirms pope met with Kim Davis |date=September 30, 2015 |work=USA Today |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/09/30/vatican-quiet-claim-pope-met-kim-davis/73078774/ |access-date=September 30, 2015}}{{cite news |last=Chappell |first=Bill |date=September 30, 2015 |title=Kim Davis And Pope Francis Had A Private Meeting in D.C. |publisher=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/09/30/444671535/kim-davis-and-pope-francis-reportedly-had-a-private-meeting-in-dc |access-date=September 30, 2015}}{{cite news |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/09/pope-francis-allegedly-met-with-kim-davis-what-does-it-mean/408166/ |title=Why Did Pope Francis Meet With Kim Davis, the Gay-Marriage-Protesting Clerk From Kentucky? |last=Green |first=Emma |date=September 30, 2015 |work=The Atlantic |access-date=September 30, 2015}} Vaticanist John L. Allen Jr. said that "there's no way to view the encounter other than as a broad gesture of support by the pope for conscientious objection from gay marriage laws" and that the gesture strengthened the hand of those who defend religious freedom.{{cite news |last=Allen Jr. |first=John L. |title=What it means that Pope Francis met Kim Davis |date=September 30, 2015 |work=Crux |url=https://cruxnow.com/papal-visit/2015/09/30/what-it-means-that-pope-francis-met-kim-davis/ |access-date=November 26, 2015 |archive-date=November 27, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151127022810/http://www.cruxnow.com/papal-visit/2015/09/30/what-it-means-that-pope-francis-met-kim-davis/ |url-status=dead }}

Two days later, the Holy See Press Office issued a statement saying that "the Pope did not enter into the details of the situation of Mrs. Davis and his meeting with her should not be considered a form of support of her position in all of its particular and complex aspects".{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/02/us/kim-davis-pope/ |title=Pope's meeting with Kim Davis not an endorsement, Vatican says |publisher=CNN |date=October 2, 2015 |access-date=October 2, 2015 |last1=Payne |first1=Ed |last2=Burke |first2=Daniel}}{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2015/10/02/vatican-downplays-importance-of-pope-franciss-meeting-with-kim-davis/ |title=Why no one wants to talk about how the Pope Francis-Kim Davis meeting was arranged |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=October 2, 2015 |access-date=October 2, 2015 |last=Boorstein |first=Michelle}}{{cite news |url=http://nyti.ms/1Vs1GBz |title=Pope Francis' Meeting Wasn't an Endorsement of Kim Davis's Views, Vatican Says |work=The New York Times |date=October 2, 2015 |access-date=October 2, 2015 |last1=Yardley |first1=Jim |last2=Goodstein |first2=Laurie}}{{cite news |title=Holy See Press Office issues statement on Pope's meeting with Kim Davis |publisher=Holy See Press Office |date=October 2, 2015 |url=http://www.news.va/en/news/holy-see-press-office-issues-statement-on-popes-me |access-date=November 7, 2015 |archive-date=November 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151103063802/http://www.news.va/en/news/holy-see-press-office-issues-statement-on-popes-me |url-status=dead }} According to Vatican spokesman Father Thomas Rosica, the Pope met with several dozen other people, and rosaries were also given to others in attendance; Davis was not invited by the Pope to the Nunciature, and "the meeting may have been manipulated by her and her lawyer".{{cite news |url=http://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-pope-francis-kim-davis-meeting-20151002-story.html |title=The truth about the Kim Davis/Pope Francis meeting, according to the Vatican |work=Los Angeles Times |date=October 2, 2015 |access-date=October 2, 2015 |last=Kington |first=Tom}} The only audience given by the Pope while in Washington was with a former student of his, an openly gay Argentine named Yayo Grassi, and Grassi's same-sex partner of 19 years.{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/02/us/pope-gay-washington/ |title=Pope held private meeting with same-sex couple in U.S. |publisher=CNN |date=October 2, 2015 |access-date=October 2, 2015 |last=Burke |first=Daniel}}{{cite news |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/10/before-kim-davis-the-pope-hung-out-with-a-gay-couple/408718/ |title=Before Kim Davis, the Pope Hung Out With a Gay Couple |work=The Atlantic |date=October 2, 2015 |access-date=October 2, 2015 |last=Green |first=Emma}} Observers speculated whether the Pope had not been informed of Davis's controversy or if the Vatican had underestimated the media impact that such a meeting would cause.{{cite news |title=Archbishop at Center of Mystery of Papal Meeting With Kim Davis |date=October 2, 2015 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/03/world/europe/archbishop-at-center-of-mystery-of-papal-meeting-with-kim-davis.html |access-date=May 8, 2016}}

On September 27, 2015, a reporter asked Pope Francis if he supported individuals, including government officials, who have a contentious objection to certain duties such as issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. He responded:[https://abcnews.go.com/US/exclusive-kim-davis-recounts-secret-meeting-pope-francis/story?id=34143874 EXCLUSIVE: Kim Davis Recounts Secret Meeting With Pope Francis] ABC News, September 30, 2015 and [https://time.com/4051727/pope-francis-papal-plane/ What Pope Francis Thought of the United States] by Elizabeth Dias, Time, September 28, 2015

"I can’t have in mind all cases that can exist about conscience objection but yes, I can say conscientious objection is a right that is a part of every human right{{nbsp}}...If a person does not allow others to be a conscientious objector, he denies a right.{{nbsp}}... Conscientious objection must enter into every judicial structure{{nbsp}}... Otherwise we would end up in a situation where we select what is a right, saying 'this right that has merit, this one does not.'"

Davis announced that she would run for reelection in 2018 as a Republican.{{cite news |title=Kentucky Clerk Opposed to Gay Marriage to Run for 2018 Re-Election |date=November 9, 2017 |publisher=NBC News |agency=Reuters |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/kentucky-clerk-opposed-gay-marriage-run-2018-re-election-n819011 |access-date=November 11, 2017}} Davis did not face any challengers in the Republican primary. Four Democrats ran in the May 2018 primary with the winner being Rowan County Assistant Property Valuation Administrator Elwood Caudill Jr., whom Davis narrowly defeated in the Democratic primary in 2014.{{cite web |title=2018 Primary Election Candidate Filings |publisher=Kim Davis County Clerk, Rowan County, Kentucky |date=March 1, 2018 |url=https://rowancountyclerk.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/2018-PRIMARY-ELECTION-CANDIDATE-FILINGS-1.pdf |access-date=May 22, 2018}}{{cite news |first1=Adam |last1=Beam |first2=Dylan |last2=Lovan |title=Gay Kentucky man loses bid to challenge Rowan County clerk Kim Davis |date=May 22, 2018 |access-date=November 8, 2018 |work=The Courier-Journal |location=Louisville, Kentucky |url=https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/2018/05/22/rowan-county-clerk-primary-election-results/635263002/}} One of the Democrats Caudill defeated was David Ermold, who had been denied a marriage license by Davis and then filed suit against her.{{cite news |last1=Brammer |first1=John Paul |title=Kim Davis turned him away. Now he's running to unseat her. |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/kim-davis-turned-him-away-now-he-s-running-unseat-n826766 |access-date=December 6, 2017 |publisher=NBC News |date=December 6, 2017}}{{cite news |author=(Staff) |title=Man denied marriage license by Kim Davis announces campaign to replace her |publisher=WKYT-TV |location=Lexington, Kentucky |date=December 6, 2017 |url=http://www.wkyt.com/content/news/Man-denied-marriage-license-by-Kim-Davis-announces-campaign-to-replace-her-462310493.html |access-date=December 7, 2017}} Davis lost her reelection campaign on November 6, 2018, when she was defeated by Caudill in the general election by a little over 8 percentage points.{{cite news |last=Wright |first=Will |title=Kim Davis, clerk who refused to sign marriage licenses for gay couples, loses to Democrat |date=November 6, 2018 |work=Lexington Herald-Leader |location=Lexington, Kentucky |url=https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article221121745.html |access-date=November 8, 2018}}{{cite news |last=Gstalter |first=Morgan |title=Anti-gay marriage country clerk Kim Davis loses reelection in Kentucky |date=November 6, 2018 |work=The Hill |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/415366-anti-gay-marriage-country-clerk-kim-davis-loses-reelection-in-kentucky/ |access-date=November 8, 2018}}

Davis has been married four times to three husbands.{{cite news |first=David |last=Mack |date=September 1, 2015 |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/davidmack/meet-kim-davis |title=Meet Kim Davis, the Woman Denying Same-Sex Couples Marriage Licenses in Kentucky |work=BuzzFeed |access-date=September 3, 2015}} The first three marriages ended in divorce in 1994, 2006, and 2008. Davis has two daughters from her first marriage and twins, a son and another daughter, who were born five months after her divorce from her first husband.{{citation needed|date=March 2020}} Her third husband is the biological father of the twins, the children being conceived while Davis was still married to her first husband. The twins were adopted by Davis's current husband, Joe Davis, who was also her second husband; the couple initially divorced in 2006 but later remarried.{{cite news |first1=Andrew |last1=Wolfson |first2=Mike |last2=Wynn |title=Ky clerk Kim Davis stands firm amid ridicule |date=September 3, 2015 |access-date=September 7, 2015 |work=The Courier-Journal |location=Louisville, Kentucky |url=http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2015/09/02/ky-clerk-kim-davis-stands-firm-amid-ridicule/71604706/}}{{cite news |first=Steven |last=Nelson |title=Kentucky Clerk Fighting Gay Marriage Has Wed Four Times |date=September 1, 2015 |access-date=September 3, 2015 |work=U.S. News & World Report |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/09/01/kentucky-clerk-fighting-gay-marriage-has-wed-four-times}} Joe Davis has also stated his support for her stance against same-sex marriage.{{cite news |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2015/09/02/clerk-in-gay-marriage-fight-once-unlikely-to-wage-moral-war |title=Kentucky Clerk in Gay Marriage Fight Says to Her, It's 'a Heaven or Hell Decision' |work=U.S. News & World Report |first=Claire |last=Galofaro |date=September 2, 2015 |agency=Associated Press}} Davis's son Nathan works in her office as a deputy clerk and has taken the same position of denying marriage licenses to same-sex couples.{{cite news |url=http://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/national/2015/09/kentucky_clerks_to_license_marriages_as_their_boss_is_jailed |title=Kentucky clerks to license marriages as their boss is jailed |date=September 3, 2015 |agency=Associated Press |website=Boston Herald |language=en-US |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151030223454/https://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/national/2015/09/kentucky_clerks_to_license_marriages_as_their_boss_is_jailed |archive-date=October 30, 2015 |access-date=November 8, 2023 |url-status=dead}} Shortly after the same-sex marriage license controversy, Davis said she and her husband switched from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party.{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-gaymarriage-kentucky-idUSKCN0RP20M20150925 |title=Kentucky clerk in gay marriage dispute switches to Republican Party |date=September 23, 2015 |work=Reuters |access-date=September 23, 2015}}

Davis says she experienced a religious awakening in 2011, following her mother-in-law's dying wish that she attend church. Since then Davis has identified herself as a Christian, belonging to the Apostolic Pentecostal movement,{{cite news |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/what-kim-daviss-apostolic-christian-church-is-all-about_us_55f09c7be4b093be51bd6800 |title=What Kim Davis's Apostolic Christian Church Is All About |last=Miller |first=Emily |date=September 9, 2015 |work=HuffPost |access-date=June 23, 2016}} which favors what they describe as a literal interpretation of the Bible.{{cite news |last1=Kaplan |first1=Sarah |last2=Higdon |first2=James |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/09/02/meet-kim-davis-the-ky-clerk-who-defying-the-supreme-court-refuses-to-issue-gay-marriage-licenses/ |title=The defiant Kim Davis, the Ky. clerk who refuses to issue gay marriage licenses |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=September 2, 2015 |access-date=September 15, 2016}} She worships three times a week{{cite news |last=Blackford |first=Linda B. |title=Rowan Clerk Testifies She 'Prayed and Fasted' Over Decision to Deny Marriage Licenses |date=July 20, 2015 |work=Lexington Herald-Leader |location=Lexington, Kentucky |url=http://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article44610921.html |access-date=September 1, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160507155445/http://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article44610921.html |archive-date=May 7, 2016}} at the Solid Rock Apostolic Church near Morehead.{{cite news |first=Emily McFarlan |last=Miller |title=What's an Apostolic Christian and why is Kim Davis' hair so long? |date=September 9, 2015 |access-date=September 10, 2015 |work=USA Today |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/09/09/splainer-whats-apostolic-christian-and-why-kim-davis-hair-so-long/71947018/}} Following her conversion, Davis let her hair grow long, stopped wearing makeup and jewelry, and began wearing skirts and dresses that fall below the knee, in keeping with Apostolic Pentecostal tenets regarding outward holiness and modest dress. She also held a weekly Bible study for female inmates at the local jail. In an interview in January 2016, Davis said that she believed that "we are living in end times."{{cite news |last=Smith |first=Samuel |title=Kim Davis Talks End Times, Pope Francis, SOTU and Religious Freedom (Interview) |date=January 12, 2016 |url=http://www.christianpost.com/news/kim-davis-end-times-pope-francis-sotu-state-of-the-union-religious-freedom-gay-marriage-interview-154747/ |work=The Christian Post |access-date=January 26, 2016}} Davis also expressed her view that the Bible is infallible.

Davis was the subject of numerous satirical works following the burst of media attention in 2015. Books, social media profiles, and videos were created to satirize her refusal to issue marriage licenses. A Twitter account which once had more than 90,000 followers and is run by comedian Dave Colan trolled Davis with mocking tweets purporting to be from a woman who "Sits Next to Kim Davis".{{cite news |url=http://www.ibtimes.com/sit-next-kim-davis-parody-twitter-account-takes-pokes-fun-hypocritical-kentucky-clerk-2082763 |title='Sit Next To Kim Davis' Parody Twitter Account Takes Off, Pokes Fun At 'Hypocritical' Kentucky Clerk |work=International Business Times |date=September 3, 2015 |access-date=October 2, 2015 |last=Vultaggio |first=Maria}}{{cite news |last=Lavers |first=Michael K. |title=Calif. man creates Twitter account mocking Kim Davis |url=http://www.washingtonblade.com/2015/09/09/calif-man-creates-twitter-account-mocking-kim-davis/ |work=Washington Blade |date=September 9, 2015 |access-date=November 15, 2015}}{{cite news |url=http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/opinion/2015/09/30/how-this-kim-davis-parody-account-became-a-force-for-lgbt-rights |title=How this Kim Davis parody account became a force for LGBT rights |work=The Dallas Morning News |date=September 30, 2015 |access-date=October 2, 2015 |last=DiFurio |first=Dom}} Funny or Die made a Mashup video featuring characters from Parks and Recreation that spoofs Davis's refusal to issue marriage licenses{{cite news |url=http://www.eonline.com/news/692377/parks-and-rec-mashup-starring-anti-gay-kentucky-clerk-kim-davis-says-what-everyone-is-thinking |title=Parks and Rec Mashup Starring Anti-Gay Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis Says What Everyone Is Thinking |work=E! News |date=September 2, 2015 |access-date=October 2, 2015 |last=Mullins |first=Jenna}}{{cite news |url=http://www.advocate.com/comedy/2015/09/02/watch-funny-or-die-spoofs-kim-davis-clerks-and-recreation |title=Funny or Die Spoofs Kim Davis With Clerks and Recreation |work=The Advocate |date=September 2, 2015 |access-date=October 2, 2015 |last=Ermac |first=Raffy}} and parodies her meeting with Pope Francis.{{cite news |url=http://www.advocate.com/comedy/2015/10/01/watch-funny-or-die-how-kim-davis-met-pope |title=Funny or Die on How Kim Davis Met the Pope |work=The Advocate |date=October 2, 2015 |access-date=October 2, 2015 |last=Ring |first=Trudy}} La Strega Entertainment created a satirical music video sung to the tune of the "Major-General's Song" from Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance.{{cite news |url=http://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/2015/9/29/watch-kim-davis-very-model-modern-fundamentalist |title=Kim Davis Is the Very Model of a Modern Fundamentalist |work=The Advocate |date=September 29, 2015 |access-date=October 2, 2015 |last=Browning |first=Bil}} Saturday Night Live cast member Aidy Bryant portrayed Davis during the show's season 41 premiere.{{cite news |last=Garner |first=Glenn |url=http://www.out.com/popnography/2015/10/05/icymi-snl-mocks-kim-davis-and-martin-shkreli |title=ICYMI: 'SNL' Mocks Kim Davis and Martin Shkreli |date=October 5, 2015 |work=Out |access-date=October 20, 2015}}{{cite news |last=Rawles |first=Timothy |url=http://sdgln.com/entertainment/2015/10/05/snl-remembers-viral-celebrities-2015-funny-season-opener#sthash.YBrveehC.dpbs |title=SNL remembers the viral celebrities of 2015 in funny season opener |date=October 5, 2015 |work=San Diego Gay and Lesbian News |access-date=October 20, 2015}} Actress Jennifer Lawrence, in the December 2015 issue of Vogue, told Jonathan Van Meter that Kim Davis is a "lady that makes me embarrassed to be from Kentucky."{{cite news |last=Rowley |first=Liz |title=In One Quote, Jennifer Lawrence Sums Up Why She'll Never Be a Republican |url=https://mic.com/articles/128389/in-one-quote-jennifer-lawrence-sums-up-why-she-ll-never-be-a-republican |date=November 12, 2015 |access-date=November 15, 2015 |publisher=Mic}}{{cite news |last=Kumar |first=Anugrah |title=Jennifer Lawrence 'Embarrassed to Be From Kentucky' Because of Kim Davis |url=http://www.christianpost.com/news/jennifer-lawrence-christian-clerk-kim-davis-hunger-games-150037/ |access-date=November 15, 2015 |work=The Christian Post}}{{cite news |last=Van Meter |first=Jonathan |title=Jennifer Lawrence Is Determined, Hilarious, and—Above All—Real |url=http://www.vogue.com/13368193/jennifer-lawrence-december-2015-cover-hunger-games/ |work=Vogue |date=November 11, 2015 |access-date=November 15, 2015 |archive-date=May 21, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160521061528/http://www.vogue.com/13368193/jennifer-lawrence-december-2015-cover-hunger-games/ |url-status=dead }}

In 2015, her office said it received death threats by phone and email, including an ex-Marine who called saying he would attack them with a machine gun. In response, the sheriff's office took a position near the doorway of the office and Davis changed her driving routes and parking locations. She also had to change her home phone number. She later reflected "It was a very volatile time. The threats were nonstop. The lashing out and the venom spewed toward me was, I mean, I blushed just reading some of the stuff. Just think 'eww' you know. And I've received things in the mail that were ungodly." She stayed off social media and did not watch the news or any of the interviews or "read any of the stuff they wrote about me, which was some nasty stuff."

She reflected, "And I just, I knew that no matter what the bad was, that the good definitely just

outweighed it a thousand to one."[https://scholarworks.moreheadstate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1089&context=merl_audio_video Kim Davis part 1] by Robert Sammons, Rowan County Marriage Equality & Religious Liberty Project, Morehead State University Audio & Video History Collection, Fall 2015, pages 11–12 (pages 12–13 of the pdf)

;2014 Democratic primary

{{Election box begin no change|title=2014 Rowan County County Clerk Democratic primary election{{cite web |url=http://rowancountyclerk.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/2014-rowan-co-primary.pdf |title=Primary Election Rowan County Recapitulation Sheet |date=May 20, 2014 |page=4 |publisher=Rowan County Clerk |access-date=September 3, 2015}}}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change |

|party = Democratic Party (United States)

|candidate = Kim Davis

|votes = 1,817

|percentage = 46.2%

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change |

|party = Democratic Party (United States)

|candidate = Elwood Caudill Jr.

|votes = 1,794

|percentage = 45.6%

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change |

|party = Democratic Party (United States)

|candidate = Charlotte Combess

|votes = 322

|percentage = 8.2%

}}

{{Election box end}}

;2014 general election

{{Election box begin no change |title=2014 Rowan County County Clerk general election{{cite web |url=http://results.enr.clarityelections.com/KY/Rowan/53808/146149/en/summary.html |date=November 4, 2014 |title=2014 General Election |publisher=Rowan County Clerk |access-date=November 4, 2014}}}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change |

|party = Democratic Party (United States)

|candidate = Kim Davis

|votes = 3,909

|percentage = 53.2%

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change |

|party = Republican Party (United States)

|candidate = John C. Cox

|votes = 3,444

|percentage = 46.8%

}}

{{Election box hold with party link no swing|

|winner=Democratic Party (United States)

}}

{{Election box end}}

;2018 Republican primary

{{Election box begin no change|title=2018 Rowan County County Clerk Republican primary election{{cite web |url=https://eu.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/2018/05/22/rowan-county-clerk-primary-election-results/635263002/|title=Gay Kentucky man loses bid to challenge Rowan County clerk Kim Davis |year=2018 |work=Courier Journal |access-date=April 6, 2020}}}}

{{Election box candidate unopposed with party link|

|party = Republican Party (United States)

|candidate = Kim Davis

}}

{{Election box end}}

;2018 general election

{{Election box begin no change |title=2018 Rowan County County Clerk general election{{cite web |url=http://results.enr.clarityelections.com/KY/Rowan/92100/217817/Web01/en/summary.html |date=November 6, 2018 |title=2018 General Election Rowan County, Kentucky State Board of Elections |publisher=Alison Lundergan Grimes, Chair |access-date=November 11, 2018}}}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change |

|party = Democratic Party (United States)

|candidate = Elwood Caudill Jr.

|votes = 4,210

|percentage = 54.14%

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change |

|party = Republican Party (United States)

|candidate = Kim Davis (Incumbent)

|votes = 3,566

|percentage = 45.86%

}}

{{Election box gain with party link no swing|

|winner = Democratic Party (United States)

|loser = Republican Party (United States)

}}

{{Election box end}}

• List of American politicians who switched parties in office
• Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission
• Pope Francis and LGBT topics
• 2009 Louisiana interracial marriage incident

{{notelist}}

{{reflist}}

• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Xg1Dh2xhXg Video documenting Kim Davis's refusal to issue a marriage license "under God's authority"]
• [http://rowancountyclerk.com/ Rowan County clerk's website]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Kim}}

Category:Living people

Category:1965 births

Category:2010s in LGBTQ history

Category:2015 in LGBTQ history

Category:American Pentecostals

Category:American anti-same-sex-marriage activists

Category:American prisoners and detainees

Category:County clerks in Kentucky

Category:Anti-LGBTQ activists

Category:Kentucky Democrats

Category:Kentucky Republicans

Category:LGBTQ in Kentucky

Category:Oneness Pentecostals

Category:People from Morehead, Kentucky

Category:People from Rowan County, Kentucky

Category:21st-century prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government

Category:Same-sex marriage in the United States

Category:Women in Kentucky politics