A county in the US state of Kentucky has started issuing marriage licenses to gay couples after the county clerk was jailed for refusing to do so. Kim Davis, an elected official in Rowan County, has said the Supreme Court’s ruling conflicts with her beliefs as a born-again Christian.
Some of her deputies began processing the licenses on Friday. giving one to a gay couple previously denied one. The US Supreme Court declared gay marriage legal in June.
On Thursday she denied herself the opportunity to be released from jail after refusing a judge’s request to allow her clerks to issue licenses. US District Judge David Bunning said Ms Davis could remain in prison for up to a week.
Five deputy clerks later told the judge they would comply with the court order and started issuing marriage licenses on Friday morning. But Ms Davis’s son, who is a sixth deputy clerk, refused.
