The same-sex couple who recently filed a case against Kentucky clerk Kim Davis for alleged contempt of court does not really want a marriage licence since their real intent is to force their homosexual agenda on the Christian champion of religious liberty, the founder of the law firm representing Davis said.
"The Plaintiffs are showing their true colours in this latest filing. It has never really been about a marriage licence—Rowan County has issued the licences—it is about forcing their will on a Christian woman through contempt of court charges, jail, and monetary sanctions," said Mathew Staver, chairman of Liberty Counsel.
Staver was referring to same-sex couple April Miller and Karen Roberts who filed a new case against Davis in an effort to get US District Judge David Bunning to penalise her again. The two claimed that Davis is not following the judge's orders for her not to interfere in the issuance of marriage licences in Rowan county. The two plaintiffs also expressed doubts that the licences being issued in the county may not be legitimate.
"Kim wouldn't give up the job she loves, so the Plaintiffs are asking the court to put the county office into receivership—removing Kim from doing her job," Staver said.
The Liberty Counsel founder said the lesbian couple "already possess marriage licences from Rowan County that have been approved as being valid by the Kentucky Governor and Kentucky Attorney General. Kim has taken all reasonable steps and good faith efforts to substantially comply with this Court's orders."
Staver said "there is no cause for this Court to punish Davis with civil fines or take the extraordinary measure of annexing the Rowan County Clerk's Office through the intrusive remedy of a receivership."
He said a receivership will be like "a hammer to be used while Davis's motion to dismiss Plaintiffs' Complaint has been stayed, her consolidated appeals are pending in the Sixth Circuit, and licences that are recognised as valid by the Kentucky Governor and Kentucky Attorney General are being issued in Rowan County."
According to the court filing, "Since her return to the office on Sept. 14, 2015, Davis has not interfered with, hindered, blocked or obstructed the issuance of any marriage licences by her deputy clerks to couples who are legally eligible to marry in Kentucky. Instead, marriage licences approved, authorised and recognised as valid in the Commonwealth of Kentucky are being issued without delay to eligible couples."
The alterations made on the marriage licence when Davis returned to work "constitute reasonable steps taken to ensure compliance with the court's orders, because these steps ensure that marriage licences will be issued in Rowan County, while also accommodating her sincerely held religious beliefs and convictions," Staver said.
Davis' lawyers said the motion to enforce should be dismissed as "licences are being issued to all eligible couples in the Rowan County Clerk's Office; there are no differences between licences issued to same-sex and different-sex couples in Rowan County – all licences are the same; (and) Davis is not interfering with the issuance of licences by her deputy clerks to legally eligible couples."
They added that "couples who are legally eligible to receive marriage licences are receiving those licences and are deeming them valid and acceptable to them."
