KENTUCKY: Federal Court Rules That Kim Davis Has Obeyed Orders To Issue Same-Sex Marriage Licenses

A federal judge today ruled moot the ACLU’s lawsuit against Kim Davis, declaring that same-sex marriage licenses she refused to sign are valid under Kentucky law. The Associated Press reports:

United States District Judge David Bunning denied the American Civil Liberties Union’s request to order Davis to reissue licenses she had altered to remove her name and title or face the possibility of further punishment. He found that Davis has allowed her deputies to issue licenses to anyone eligible since September and that the altered licenses are likely valid under Kentucky law.

The ACLU, which sued Davis on behalf of four rejected couples, asked the judge to make her reissue the marriage licenses and order that she not interfere with her deputies willing to sign them. Matt Bevin, the state’s new Republican governor, signed an executive order in December that removes clerks’ names from marriage licenses in response to Davis’ case.

On Tuesday, Bunning found that Davis has been complying with his order and that “there is every reason to believe that any altered licenses … would be recognized under Kentucky law,” rendering the ACLU’s request “moot.”

ACLU Staff Attorney Ria Tabacco Mar issued a statement after the ruling saying she was “heartened” that Judge Bunning believes the altered licenses will likely be honored. But she said the question will have to be settled conclusively by Kentucky state courts.

And of course, even though everybody is getting their marriage license, Mat Staver is declaring victory.

“There is absolutely no reason that this case went so far without reasonable people respecting and accommodating Kim Davis’s First Amendment rights,” said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. “Today’s ruling by Judge Bunning rejected the ACLU’s request to hold Kim Davis in contempt of court. From the beginning we have said the ACLU is not interest in marriage licenses. They want Kim Davis’s scalp. They want to force her to violate her conscience. I am glad the court rejected this bully tactic,” said Staver.