Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis will be released from an Eastern Kentucky jail, provided she does not interfere with the issuance of marriage licenses by her deputies.
U.S. District Judge David Bunning ordered Davis into the custody of U.S. Marshals on Thursday. Davis had refused to issue marriage licenses since the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in June. She’s said issuing the documents to same-sex couples violates her deeply held religious beliefs.
Last month, Bunning ordered Davis to resume issuing marriage licenses, but she remained defiant. Several of the deputy clerks in her office began issuing marriage licenses to all couples on Friday.
On Tuesday, Bunning ordered Davis to be released from the Carter County Detention Center. But he wrote that she could not interfere with her deputy clerks issuing the documents.
Davis’ fight against same-sex marriage has drawn national attention to the small towns of Grayson — where she was jailed — and Morehead, where she works.
On Tuesday, Republican presidential candidates Mike Huckabee and Ted Cruz were expected in Grayson.
Matt Bevin, the Republican candidate for governor, has also planned a visit.