After weeks of trying to simply exercise their rights as citizens of US, James Yates and William Smith became the first gay couple to receive a marriage licence in Rowan County, Kentucky. The couple finally secured their licence after Kim Davis, the county clerk who continually refused to grant it, was jailed.
Yates and Smith had made five other attempts to procure their marriage licence, turned away each time by Kim Davis.
Davis’ actions were in direct opposition to a US Supreme Court ruling that legalised same-sex marriage across all 50 states on June 26th. A series of videos of Davis repeatedly denying Yates and Smith their licence to marry in the county in which they pay their taxes went viral, and after numerous legal challenges, Davis, a devout Christian, was jailed for contempt of court.
— Mike Wynn (@MikeWynn_CJ) September 4, 2015
Davis was issued with a choice to comply with the law and allow one of her deputy clerks to issue Yates and Smith their licence, but refused, accepting jail time instead.
However, the validity of the marriage licences signed by deputy clerks lies in a legal grey area, as the documents are not officially valid without the signature of the official clerk. The pair left the building to chants of "Love has won" called out by their supporters.
But Davis's plight has turned her into a cause célèbre among right-wing American pundits and many conservative Americans. Outside the courthouse, Yates and Smith had to file past several placard-bearing supporters of Kim Davis, including her (third) husband, calling the Supreme Court's ruling "illegal."
Just spoke with Kim Davis' husband Joe (left). He called Judge Bunning a "bully" for his decision @WHAS11 pic.twitter.com/HtQoW8yaTu
— Michaela MacDonald (@WHAS11Michaela) September 4, 2015
