Kentucky clerk 'has no intention to resign'

The Kentucky county clerk jailed by a federal judge for standing by her Christian faith and refusing to hand out "same-sex marriage" licenses headed into the holiday weekend fully prepared for a long fight, according to her attorney.

Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel, which has been representing Kim Davis, sent a statement out, including to WND, that he met with her, and she told him, "All is well."

"No, she has no intention to resign," he confirmed. And, "she will never violate her conscience."

"She is prepared for the consequences of those two decisions."

Already, rallies are being planned around her presence in the Carter County Detention Center, with an event scheduled on Tuesday.

Republican presidential candidate Gov. Mike Huckabee revealed plans to visit Davis just before the rally, CNN reported on Friday.

And an online petition set up by Huckabee has drawn more than 55,000 signatures, after he had gone before cameras to call the case the "criminalization of Christianity in our country."

"Who will be next?" he questioned. "Pastors? Photographers? Caterers? Florists? This is a reckless, appalling, out-of-control decision that undermines the Constitution of the United States and our fundamental right to religious liberty."

That "undermining" comes from Judge David Bunning, who had been presented with a number of accommodation options early in the week by Davis' attorneys, but rejected them all. He also rejected a request from a Kentucky state lawmaker for time for the legislature to address the problem.

"Despite being held as a prisoner for her religious beliefs, her conscience remains unshackled. We discussed her options going forward. We will challenge Judge Bunning's contempt order and her unlawful confinement," Staver said. "Kim is resolute in her decision to challenge the issuance of any marriage certificate bearing her name without her authority."

What do YOU think? Is this the beginning of increased jailing of Christians? Sound off in today's WND poll

WND reported earlier Friday that, under the threat from Bunning of being jailed, Rowan County deputy clerks were issuing marriage licenses to homosexual duos.

They could have gotten those licenses at any point in the fight from any of more than 100 other locations in the state, but they bypassed those locations to pursue Davis.

Staver said she continues to shy away from speaking a lot to the media, but he offered some background on the situation.

He said she had only asked that the Kentucky marriage license forms be changed so her name would not appear on them.

"I never imagined a day like this would come, where I would be asked to violate a central teaching of Scripture and of Jesus Himself regarding marriage. To issue a marriage license which conflicts with God's definition of marriage, with my name affixed to the certificate, would violate my conscience," she has said.

Even before the Supreme Court's Obergefell decision, in which five lawyers decided to redefine marriage, she had written to lawmakers asking them to address the issue and protect clerks who had a religious objection to "same-sex marriage."

The Kentucky Clerks Association also recommend that the names of clerks be removed from the forms, Staver revealed.

Davis, a Democrat, was elected in 2014 and took office only earlier this year.

Staver explained Davis became a Christian at a church service she attended to honor the dying wish of her mother-in-law, who passed away on a Sunday morning.

"Following the death of my godly mother-in-law over four years ago, I went to church to fulfill her dying wish. There I heard a message of grace and forgiveness and surrendered my life to Jesus Christ," Davis has explained.

As an elected official, Davis can only be removed from office if impeached by the Kentucky House of Representatives and convicted by the Senate, a move that clearly is not certain in the conservative leaning state.

Even so, that group does not meet again until January.

Staver pointed out the Supreme Court invalidated legislation limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples – which had been adopted by a 75 percent majority in the state. But it remained up to each state's legislature to conform the laws to the opinion, and in Kentucky, no changes have yet been made.

In the statement, Liberty Counsel said, "We will continue to stand with Kim Davis and others who assert their conscience. Kim joins a long list of people who were imprisoned for their conscience. People who today we admire like Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Jan Huss, John Bunyan, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and more. Each had their own cause, but they all share the same resolve not to violate their conscience."

Davis' attorneys have argued the judge is depriving her of due process and her constitutional rights by ordering her to act in violation of her Christian beliefs.

Bunning has acknowledged that the case presents a conflict between two legal rights – Davis' enumerated right to free exercise of religion and the newly created "same-sex marriage" right from the Supreme Court's Obergefell decision in June.

The Supreme Court's decision, however, was criticized by Chief Justice John Roberts as having no constitutional foundation. Deciding votes also were cast by two justices, Elena Kagan and Ruth Ginsburg, who publicly had advocated for "same-sex marriage" while the case was before the court. They refused demands that they recuse themselves from the case.

After ordering Davis to jail, Bunning promised to release her if she "allowed" her deputies to issue the licenses. She refused.

Bunning, who previously has ruled for partial-birth abortion and homosexual clubs for high schoolers, indicated she would remain in jail at least a week.

Kim Davis' supporters, who include GOP presidential candidates Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Gov. Mike Huckabee, say America now has criminalized Christianity. Huckabee set up a website called Free Kim Davis Now.

The Davis case illustrates the unwillingness of many Americans to accept the Supreme Court's imposition of "gay marriage."

WND reported when James Dobson, the high-profile Christian commentator, author and broadcaster, warned the U.S. Supreme Court before it created "same-sex marriage" that it was about to constitutionalize sin.

He said the case ultimately isn't about marriage. Fundamentally, he contends, it's a way to open up vast new avenues to attack Christianity.

Dobson, who founded the highly influential groups Family Research Council and Focus on the Family, and now runs Family Talk. charged in his monthly newsletter that the Supreme Court's decision was "an expression of hostility toward people who take their Christianity seriously."

He said the decision by five justices will prove disastrous for America.

His view is supported by the four dissenting justices, who argued the decision had no connection to the U.S. Constitution and likely will be used to attack Christianity.

Dobson wrote: "We are convinced that this unconstitutional decision, issued by five unelected, unaccountable and imperious justices, will ultimately prove to be as catastrophic as Dred Scott v. Sanford in 1857 and Roe v. Wade in 1973. It will touch every dimension of culture."

He was referring to the decisions that said blacks were not fully human and that society has a right to kill unborn children for any reason.

"This court decision is not about same-sex marriage, except only tangentially. Many gay and lesbian groups have admitted that marriage has never been their primary objective. Instead, it is about everything else," he writes.

"What's at stake is the entire culture war."

"Deputies issue 'same-sex marriage' license"

"Huckabee: 'FreeKimDavisNow.com'"