Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis Wants Name Off Same-Sex Marriage Licenses, Returns To Work Defiant And Says She's 'No Hero'

Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who gained national notoriety earlier this month for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and spending four days in jail for it, returned to work Monday and wants her name and title taken off of such licenses going forward, according to ABC News. Davis said she would refuse to authorize or issue any marriage licenses but would not stand in the way of co-workers' processing them.

“I am here before you this morning with a seemingly impossible choice, which I do not wish on any of my fellow Americans,” she said at a press conference Monday morning. “My conscience or my freedom. My conscience or my ability to serve the people that I love. Obey God or a directive that forces me to disobey God.”

Davis said that if her deputies felt the need to issue an “unauthorized license” for fear of being thrown in jail, she would not take any action against them. Davis also said she was “no hero.”

“Any unauthorized license that they issue will not have my name, my title or my authority on it,” said Davis. “Instead, the license will state that they are issued pursuant to a federal court order.”

Rowan County Deputy Clerk Brian Mason said he would continue to issue marriage licenses Monday. Davis said she wanted Kentucky’s governor and the state’s court system to allow for licenses to be issued under the authority of the state.

The American Civil Liberties Union sued Davis for refusing to follow the federal law decided by the Supreme Court in June. Davis was imprisoned earlier in September for her failure to issue marriage licenses due to her personal religious beliefs that oppose same-sex marriage.

"We hope Kim Davis will follow the law and obey court orders," said Amber Duke, a spokeswoman for the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky, speaking with NBC News. "If she doesn't, our attorneys will meet and decide our next action."

Davis’ term in office does not end until 2018. Her attorneys have repeatedly said she would not resign her position, which pays approximately $80,000 a year. Davis became an Apostolic Christian over four years ago. Followers of the faith abide by a strict moral code.