Kim Davis Freed: Kentucky Clerk Protesting Gay Marriage Speaks To Supporters After Release From Jail

UPDATE 3:55 p.m. EDT -- Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who was jailed last week for refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses, spoke Tuesday afternoon to scores of supporters who gathered at a rally outside of the Carter County Detention Center in Grayson, Kentucky. "Thank you all so much. I love you all so very much," Davis told the crowd. "I just want to give God the glory," she added. "His people have rallied and you are a strong people! Just keep on pressing."

UPDATE 3:20 p.m. EDT – Kim Davis briefly appeared outside of the Carter County Detention Center with her attorney, Mat Staver, and Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee to confirm that she had been freed from jail Tuesday. Davis, who was jailed last Thursday for disobeying a judge’s order to issue same-sex marriage licenses, appeared to cry tears as Staver and Huckabee spoke.

When asked by a reporter whether her time in jail was worth it, Davis smiled and nodded. The clerk of Rowan County, Kentucky, had refused to issue the licenses, citing her religious belief that same-sex marriage is wrong. Davis was expected to return to work in the clerk’s office "later this week," as long as the court and government officials can work out a compromise that precludes her from issuing the licenses, Staver said.

“Kim Davis cannot [and] will not violate her conscience,” Staver said in remarks that were streamed live from the detention center.

Huckabee, who is also a former southern Baptist pastor and governor of Arkansas, said he would go to jail in Davis’ place, if it meant protecting her freedom to exercise her religious beliefs. “We cannot penalize the Christian faith or anybody’s faith in this country,” he said. “I told Kim today that I feel like she’s shown more courage than any other politician or pastor that I know.”

Original story:

Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk jailed for not issuing same-sex marriage licenses because of her religious beliefs, was expected to be released from jail Tuesday, NBC News reported. A federal judge ordered a contempt of court order lifted, according to NBC and other outlets.

Davis, who helped spark a national debate about religious freedom last week, has garnered widespread support from evangelical Christian groups and conservative political figures. Churches and some Republican leaders have said the U.S. Supreme Court’s validation of same-sex marriage nationwide in June would lead to the criminalization of local officials and business owners who refuse to take part in gay unions as a matter of religious principle.

Davis disobeyed a judge’s Aug. 12 order to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in Rowan County last week. Davis, a Christian who said gay marriage offends her religious beliefs, was jailed for contempt of court last Thursday. U.S. District Judge David Bunning said her personal religious objections superseded neither the law nor her duty as an elected public official. A deputy clerk in her office began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples on Friday.

Bunning ordered Davis released Tuesday, noting that if she interfered with her deputy clerks, "appropriate sanctions will be considered." Davis' attorney, Mat Staver, wasn't pleased with the decision because it allowed gay marriages to continue. "We're back to Square One," Staver said. "She's been released, but there's been no resolution."

Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee was expected to visit Davis in jail on Tuesday. A former governor of Arkansas and a former Southern Baptist pastor, Huckabee advertised a Tuesday rally outside the Carter County Detention Center in Grayson, Kentucky, with the website URL “FreeKimDavisNow.com.”

Plans for the rally prompted local officials to cancel classes at five schools, according to CNN. Large demonstrations were held over the weekend, many of them in support of Davis, who told the public that she would remain in jail as long as a judge was forcing her to issue same-sex marriage licenses.