Kim Davis has been in the news a lot lately, but with a new development every few days, and different sources disagreeing about the facts, it has been a hard story to follow.
Starting in 1991, Davis served as chief deputy clerk of Rowan County Kentucky, serving under her mother, the Clerk of Rowan County. In 2014, her mother decided not to run for reelection, and Kim Davis decided to run for clerk. Davis won the election and became Rowan County Clerk. Many people don’t realize that Davis ran as a Democrat, and remained a registered Democrat until September 15, 2015 when she changed her political affiliation to the republican party.
After the Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, that a state may not refuse marriage licenses to same-sex couples, Kim Davis began to make headlines as one of a few county clerks who continued to refuse to issue licences. While the other clerks all eventually resigned or began issuing licenses to same-sex couples, Mrs. Davis was resolute in her refusal to do so.
Eventually, on June 6, 2015 a number of couples who were denied licenses filed suit against Mrs. Davis and federal judge David L. Bunning issued a preliminary injunction ordering Davis to issue marriage licenses to qualified couples. After the preliminary injunction (which is a court order), Ms. Davis refused to follow the order.
Because she continued to refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, she was found in contempt of the order, meaning she violated it. Judges have the power to enforce their orders by finding people in contempt, which can be punished by jail time. Davis was imprisoned for 5 days before her release.
Did the Pope really meet Kim Davis?
Kim Davis’ story started getting even more media attention when her lawyer reported that she had met with the pope, but what really happened?
Yes, the pope met Kim Davis, but what really happened at the meeting is under some dispute. Mrs. Davis’ lawyer, Mat Staver initially released a statement saying that the pope had met with his client and had expressed his support for her, telling her to “stay strong”.
Later, a spokesperson from the vatican released this statement:
“Pope Francis met with several dozen persons who had been invited by the Nunciature to greet him as he prepared to leave Washington for New York City. Such brief greetings occur on all papal visits and are due to the Pope’s characteristic kindness and availability…”
Since the meeting Pope Francis and his spokespeople have distanced themselves from the controversial issue. There has been talk of the Pope giving the boot to Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, who set up the meeting with Kim Davis. A petition to remove the archbishop from office has even received 34,000 signatures, but the Vatican has made no action to remove him from office.
What’s happening now?
Meanwhile, Kim Davis is back to her job as Rowan County Clerk. She is still not authorizing legal documents for same sex marriages, instead her clerks are authorizing the documents, which will read “pursuant to a federal court order”. Some people may wonder why Davis hasn’t simply been fired for not doing her job. The answer is simple: she is an elected official, so she can’t be fired. In order to remove her from office, the Kentucky House of Representatives must initiate impeachment proceedings, and the charges must then be brought before the Kentucky Senate. Until something like this happens, Davis will remain Clerk, performing the rest of her duties, while her deputies process same sex-marriage licenses.