British Employment Tribunal: Church of England Can Refuse To License Clergy Who Have Entered Same-Sex Marriage

In Pemberton v. Inwood, (Empl. Trib., Oct. 28, 2015), a British Employment Tribunal held that the Church of England had not violated the Equality Act when it refused to grant Rev. Jeremy Pemberton an Extra Parochial Ministry License that would qualify him to be appointed as a chaplain at the Sherwood Forest Hospitals.  The license was denied because Pemberton had entered into a same-sex marriage in contravention of Church of England doctrine. The Guardian last week reported on the decision. [Thanks to Law & Religion UK for the lead.] [Corrected-- an earlier version of this post had the parties reversed.]

Kim Davis Files Opening Brief With 6th Circuit

On Monday, Rowan County, Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis filed a 126-page opening brief (full text) in her appeal of the federal district court's various rulings against her that require her office to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples despite her religious objections to doing so.  As summarized in the Liberty Counsel press release announcing the filing, the appeal asks the 6th Circuit to reverse the following district court rulings: (1) Preliminary injunction against Davis on August 12, 2015; (2) District court’s denying a preliminary injunction against the State Defendants on August 12, 2015; (3) Expanded injunction against Davis on September 3, 2015; and (4) Contempt order against Davis on September 3, 2015. (See prior related posting.) AP reports on developments.

Anti-Gay Westboro Baptist Church Pickets Anti-Gay Marriage Kim Davis

In a move that puzzled some observers, four members of the Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church yesterday picketed near the Rowan County, Kentucky courthouse.  Westboro, known for its virulent anti-gay rhetoric, was protesting Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who has gained notice for her refusal to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. According to the Louisville Courier-Journal, a Westboro spokesperson Shirley Phelps-Roper said that Westboro objected to the fact that Davis is divorced and remarried.  Phelps-Roper said:

This woman wants to say that her sin isn’t as grievous as the same-sex marriage sin.  It’s all sin. It’s all awful. But her sin enabled that sin. When you look up, and all the Christians have given over the moral high ground, what voice do they have left?

She also argued that Kim Davis should nevertheless follow the law and issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, saying: "God hates oath breakers just like he hates adultery and he hates same-sex marriage."

Court Upholds Military Reprimand To Enlistee For Objecting To Same-Sex Wedding

In Wilson v. James, (D DC, Oct. 13, 2015), the D.C. federal district court dismissed RFRA, 1st and 5th Amendment and various other challenges by an enlisted member of the Utah Air National Guard to letters of reprimand he received for his opposition to a same-sex wedding ceremony held at West Point's chapel.

After reading about the wedding ceremony, Layne Wilson, a Mormon, sent an e-mail using his military account to a major whom he believed to be the chaplain at the U.S. Military Academy, saying in part: "Our base chapels are a place of worship and this [is] a mockery to God and our military core values." His commander issued a letter of reprimand for this, which led to Wilson to rebuke his commander on Facebook, posting: "You embarrass me, our country, and our unit!!!...." That led to a second letter of reprimand and suspension of Wilson's security clearance. Wilson sued, bringing, in the court's words, "a bevy of claims." Rejecting Wilson's RFRA claim, the court said in part:

A substantial burden on one’s religious beliefs—as distinct from such a burden on one’s exercise of religious beliefs—does not violate RFRA....

Admittedly, the First LOR likely chilled Plaintiff’s speech regarding his religious beliefs, especially within the military setting. But nowhere does Plaintiff assert that LDS doctrine requires him to publicly voice his dissent about homosexuality or same-sex marriage.... Plaintiff only contends that, under LDS doctrine, homosexuality is a sin.... His religious belief, however, does not become a protected religious exercise under RFRA simply because Plaintiff expressed it through speech.

Rejecting Wilson's free speech claim, the court held:

An email from an enlisted member of the military that protests the decision of a senior military official outside the sender’s chain of command and urges that official to reverse his decision receives no First Amendment protection.

Judicial Ethics Complaint Cites Alabama Justice's Remarks On Same-Sex Marriage Precedent

The Southern Poverty Law Center yesterday filed an ethics complaint (full text) with the Judicial Inquiry Commission of Alabama alleging that Alabama Supreme Court Justice Tom Parker violated the state's Code of Judicial Ethics when, in a radio interview, he suggested that the Alabama Supreme Court defy the U.S. Supreme Court's Obergefell decision legalizing same-sex marriage. As summarized by an SPLC press release:

The complaint cites comments made by Parker during an Oct. 6 radio show, “Focal Point,” hosted by Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association. Fischer has used his radio show to promote outrageous, denigrating claims about LGBT people, Muslims, Native Americans and African Americans.

In the interview, Parker not only discussed a marriage equality case pending before the Alabama Supreme Court – Ex parte State v. King – he voiced his personal opinion about the case and suggested that Alabama should defy the U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage in order to lead to a “revival of what we need in this country.”

9 Alabama Counties Stop Issuing Marriage Licenses In Response To Marriage Equality Ruling

AP reports today that in at least 9 of Alabama's 67 counties judges have completely stopped issuing marriage licences now that the U.S. Supreme Court has legalized same-sex marriages.  The judges are relying on a 1961 change in Alabama's law that made it optional rather than mandatory for probate courts to issue marriage licences.  This has created a region in southwest Alabama with a population of 78,000 in which residents will have to travel to other counties to obtain a license.

Respondents In Oregon Wedding Cake Case Refuse To Post Bond For Their Appeal

As previously reported, in July the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries, as part of a cease and desist order, levied $135,000 in damages against the owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa Bakery for their refusal to provide a wedding cake to a same-sex couple. Instead of paying the damages the owners have filed an appeal with the state court of appeals, but, according to yesterday's Oregonian, they refuse to provide the bond or irrevocable letter of credit that is required to pursue the appeal. Aaron and Melissa Klein apparently claim financial hardship even though crowdfunding sites set up to support them have raised some $515,000. State officials have now filed in court seeking a judgment that will allow them to attach assets belonging to the Kleins. [Thanks to Scott Mange for the lead.]

Pope Francis Met With Kim Davis; Supports Conscientious Objection

In a press release issued yesterday, Liberty Counsel disclosed that Rowan County, Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis met with Pope Francis at the Vatican Embassy in Washington last Thursday. Davis' husband was also at the private meeting during which the Pope, speaking in English, thanked Davis for her courage and presented her with rosaries for her parents who are Catholic. Davis has refused to issue marriage licences to same-sex couples, and was jailed for contempt for several days as a result. (See prior posting.) In a press conference on his plane back to Rome (before the meeting with Davis was announced publicly), the Pope told reporters that conscientious objection is a human right. When asked whether that applies to government officials, the Pope responded: "It is a human right and if a government official is a human person, he has that right."

Pope Francis Addresses Clergy Sex Abuse and New Definitions of Marriage

As reported by Vatican Radio, Pope Francis today in Philadelphia held a private meeting with victims of clergy sexual abuse. He then addressed a meeting of bishops and departed from his prepared remarks to begin as follows:

I hold the stories and the suffering and the sorrow of children who were sexually abused by priests deep in my heart.  I remain overwhelmed with shame that men entrusted with the tender care of children violated these little ones and caused grievous harm.  I am profoundly sorry. God weeps.

The crimes and sins of the sexual abuse of children must no longer be held in secret.  I pledge the zealous vigilance of the Church to protect children and the promise of accountability for all.

They, the survivors of abuse, have become true heralds of hope and ministers of mercy. We humbly owe each one of them and their families our gratitude for their immense courage to shine the light of Christ on the evil of the sexual abuse of children.

I’m telling you this because I’ve just met with a group of sex abuse victims who are being helped and accompanied here in Philadelphia.

The remainder of his remarks to the bishops are also carried in the same Vatican Radio coverage. Those remarks included the following, which appears to be a reference to the legal recognition of same-sex marriage:

Needless to say, our understanding, shaped by the interplay of ecclesial faith and the conjugal experience of sacramental grace, must not lead us to disregard the unprecedented changes taking place in contemporary society, with their social, cultural – and now juridical – effects on family bonds.  These changes affect all of us, believers and non-believers alike.  Christians are not “immune” to the changes of their times.  This concrete world, with all its many problems and possibilities, is where we must live, believe and proclaim.

Until recently, we lived in a social context where the similarities between the civil institution of marriage and the Christian sacrament were considerable and shared.  The two were interrelated and mutually supportive.  This is no longer the case. 

More On Rowan County, Kentucky, and Marriage Licenses

When Kentucky federal district court Judge David Bunning released Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis from jail where she had been placed for refusing to comply with a court order to issue same-sex marriage licenses (see prior posting), he also ordered the five deputy clerks who agreed to comply with the order to file a status report every 14 days. (Full text of order). The first of the ordered reports (full text) was filed on Sept. 18 on behalf of Deputy Brian Mason, the Deputy Clerk who, by mutual agreement, is actually issuing the licenses.  He reports in detail on language changes Kim Davis made in the forms. These include elimination of references to Davis in the form. The other Deputy Clerks filed their first status reports yesterday (Sept. 21).  Perhaps the most interesting (full text) is the one filed on behalf of Deputy Clerk Kristy Plank, which says in part:

As of this filing, Mrs. Plank reports that, to the best of her knowledge, all requests for marriage licenses requested by legally qualified couples have been issued.  The only denial of a marriage license application that has occurred within the last two weeks was to a gentleman who stated that he wanted a license that would permit him to marry “Jesus”. When it was explained to the individual that both parties had to be present, he stated, “Jesus is always present”. After being denied, the gentleman returned later and presented a type of Power of Attorney document issued by his church granting him authority to sign “Jesus’” name. Since both parties were not present these requests were denied.

For those who want to follow all the filings in this case (and in other cases involving LGBT rights), a comprehensive source is the non-profit organization Equality Case Files which posts these primary source materials online.  They are most easily accessed through the group's Twitter feed, its Facebook page or its library on Scribd. [Thanks to Marty Lederman via Religionlaw for the lead.]

UPDATE: On Sept. 21, the ACLU filed a motion (full text) with the court asking it to issue an order requiring marriage licences issued by the Rowan County Clerk's Office to be in the form that was used prior to Sept. 8, and not in the altered form that Davis has imposed. The motion argues that the changes-- especially listing the person signing it as "Notary Public" rather than "Deputy Clerk"-- cast question on the validity of the license and casts "a stamp of animus against the LGBT community."

6th Circuit Denies Kim Davis Stay of Injunction Pending Appeal

Yesterday in Miller v. Davis, (6th Cir., Sept. 17, 2015), the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals denied a motion by Rowan County, Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis to stay the preliminary injunction against her, pending appeal. The district court had enjoined Davis from refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.  The appeals court said that Davis had not sought a stay from the district court, as required by Federal Rules, before asking the Court of Appeals for a stay.  Davis argued that it would have been useless to go to the district court first.

UPDATE: Marty Lederman at Balkinization blog (9/19) has a lengthy discussion of whether Kim Davis or her office is in violation of the federal district court's injunction in the implementation of the issuance by a deputy clerk of marriage licences with modified language.

Probate Judge Asks Alabama Supreme Court To Protect His Refusal To Issue Same-Sex Marriage Licences

As reported by AL.com, on Wednesday Alabama Probate Judge Nick Williams filed an "Emergency Petition for Declaratory Judgment and/or Protective Order In Light of Jailing of Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis" (full text of petition) and a Memorandum In Support of the motion (full text). Williams objects on religious grounds to issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The petition begins:

The jailing of Kentucky Clerk Kimberly B. Davis puts at immediate risk the liberty interest of all faithful and religiously sincere public officials in Alabama whose office has responsibility for making decisions as to whether to give sanction and honor to homosexual relationships to include the issuance of a license to engage in sodomy.  These officers need this Court's declaration that their sincerely held religious beliefs do not disqualify them from holding their office.

Last March, the Alabama Supreme Court issued a writ of mandamus ordering Probate Court judges around the state to discontinue the issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples, (See prior posting.)  Judge Williams emergency motion was technically filed as a motion in that case, captioned in the motion as Ex parte State of Alabama ex rel Alabama Policy Institute v. King (Case No. 1140460). .

Update on Kim Davis and Marriage Licenses In Kentucky

On Monday, Rowan County, Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis, after spending 5 days in jail on contempt charges, returned to work still opposed on religious grounds to issuing marriage licences to same-sex couples.  However, as reported by CNN, she did not prevent her deputy clerks from issuing licences reading that they were issued "pursuant to federal court order." Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear said that the state will recognize these licenses as valid.  Meanwhile, yesterday in Davis v. Beshear, (6th Cir., Sept. 15, 2015), the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals denied Davis request for a preliminary injunction against the Governor and the Commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives seeking to prevent them from enforcing the district court order that county clerks issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and exempting her from issuing licenses pending appeal of the district court's delay in passing on her request for an injunction. (See prior related posting.) The court said in part:

Davis maintains that the issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples burdens her sincerely held religious beliefs in violation of the U.S. Constitution, the Kentucky Constitution, and the Kentucky Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Davis has not demonstrated a substantial likelihood of success on her federal constitutional claims. We need not address the merits of her claims under Kentucky law because the Eleventh Amendment of the U.S. Constitution precludes the federal courts from compelling state officials to comply with state law.

Oregon Judge Faces Ethics Charges Over Refusing Same-Sex Weddings and Other Matters

The Oregon Commission on Judicial Fitness and Disability announced in a press release issued Tuesday that a hearing is scheduled next month on ethics charges filed against Marion County Judge Vance Day.  (See prior related posting.) Day has religious objections to same-sex marriage, and one of the charges against him is that before he decided to discontinue entirely performing wedding ceremonies, he had his staff screen wedding applicants to assure that he was not presiding over a same-sex marriage.  However Day, who is head of the Veterans Treatment Court, also faces five other unrelated charges including false statements, improperly allowing a veteran with a prior felony conviction to handle firearms and posting a picture of Adolph Hitler in the county courthouse.  According to CBS News, the Hitler portrait was part of a collage included in memorabilia of a local doctor who had served in World War II. The portrait was surrounded and partially obscured by pages from the doctor's diary, medals and photos.

Meanwhile, The Oregonian reported yesterday that another Oregon state trial court judge, Washington County Judge Thomas Kohl, has also stopped performing weddings now that same-sex marriages are legal.  Kohl has written and speaks widely in churches and prisons about the transformative power of faith.

District Judge Lifts Contempt Sanction and Orders Kentucky Clerk Released From Jail

Today as Republican Presidential candidates Mike Huckabee and Ted Cruz prepared to visit Rowan County (KY) Clerk Kim Davis (CNN), federal district judge David Bunning ordered her released from jail.  His order (full text) read in part:

On September 8, 2015, Plaintiffs filed a Status Report at the Court’s behest.  According to the Report, Plaintiffs have obtained marriage licenses from the Rowan CountyClerk’s Office. The Court is therefore satisfied that the Rowan County Clerk’s Office is fulfilling its obligation to issue marriage licenses to all legally eligible couples, consistent with the U.S. Supreme Court’s holding in Obergefell  and this Court’s August 12, 2015 Order. For these reasons, the Court’s prior contempt sanction against Defendant Davis is hereby lifted. 

Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED as follows:

1.Defendant Davis shall be  released  from the custody of the U.S. Marshal forthwith. Defendant Davis shall not interfere in any way, directly or indirectly, with the efforts of her deputy clerks to issue marriage licenses to all legally eligible couples. If Defendant Davis should interfere in any way with their issuance, that will be considered a violation of this Order and appropriate sanctions will be considered....

In a footnote to his order, Judge Bunning said:

While the Status Report reflects that Plaintiffs’ marriage licenses have been altered so that “Rowan County” rather than “Kim Davis” appears on the line reserved for the name of the county clerk, Plaintiffs have not alleged that the alterations affect the validity of the licenses. Nor do the alterations impact the Court’s finding that the deputy clerks have complied with the Court’s Order.

Washington Post reports on the court's action.

UPDATE: As Kim Davis was released from jail on Tuesday afternoon, Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee, standing beside her, told the media: "If somebody needs to go to jail, I am willing to go in her place, and I mean that,"(The Hill).

Saga of Recalcitrant Rowan County Clerk Continues

Developments over the Labor Day weekend have made same-sex marriage opponent Kim Davis-- the Rowan County, Kentucky Clerk who was remanded to jail on civil contempt charges Thursday for refusing to allow her office to issue marriage licenses-- into a high profile symbol of conservative Christian resistance to the U.S. Supreme Court's same-sex marriage decision. (On details of her jailing, see prior posting.)  As reported by the Washington Post, on Friday morning, Deputy Clerk Brian Mason began issuing marriage licenses without Davis' name appearing on them. The County Attorney had ruled that deputy clerks do not need Davis' approval to issue licenses.  However Davis' attorneys argue that these licenses are void.   Marty Lederman at Balkinization blog on Saturday posted a detailed analysis of Kentucky law on this and related issues.

Meanwhile Davis' attorneys have filed motions seeking to get Davis released from jail. Before Davis was held in contempt, she had already filed an appeal with the 6th Circuit seeking to overturn the preliminary injunction that had been issued ordering her to end her resistance. (See prior posting). On Sunday, her attorneys filed an amended notice of appeal (full text), appealing the contempt citation against her as well as the district court's order clarifying that its injunction required issuance of licenses to all qualified couples, not just the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. A Liberty Counsel press release announcing the filing said in part:

“While most Americans are enjoying the extended holiday weekend with family and friends, Kim Davis sits in isolation for the fourth day in jail,” said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. “We are working through the holiday to secure Kim’s freedom”....

In a subsequent press release on Monday announcing a press conference and rally for this afternoon, Davis' attorneys said:

Kim Davis has never sought the spotlight. Although some people have said she is a hero and some accuse her of wanting to be a martyr, neither is true. Kim bristles at the thought. She loves God, loves people, and loves her job. She remains faithful to all three and that is why she is here in jail. She may be a prisoner because of her faith, but Kim is freer than most Americans.

Yesterday, Davis' attorneys also filed a separate emergency motion for an injunction (full text) asking the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals to bar enforcement against her of Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear's memo ordering Clerks to comply with the Supreme Court's same-sex marriage decision, and asking that the court exempt her from being required to authorized same-sex marriages. Marty Lederman has extensive analysis of this motion as well.

Mic reports that conservative politicians are drawing analogies to the civil rights movement.  Iowa Congressman Steve King said that Davis should be considered for the Rosa Parks award, and Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee compared the Supreme Court's same-sex marriage decision to the Dred Scott decision.

Tennessee Judge Says Obergefell Ended State Jurisdiction Over Contested Divorces

A Tennessee Chancery Court Judge, in what can only be described as a fit of judicial pique, last week used a divorce case in which he had substantial doubt about the parties' credibility to launch a verbal attack on the U.S. Supreme Court's same-sex marriage decision and develop a rather far-fetched theory of the decision's impact.  In Bumgardner v. Bumgardner, (TN Chan., Aug. 31, 2015), the court said in part:

With the U.S. Supreme Court having defined what must be recognized as a marriage, it would appear that Tennessee' s judiciary must now await the decision of the U. S. Supreme Court as to what is not a marriage, or better stated, when a marriage is no longer a marriage. The majority' s opinion in Obergefell, regardless of its patronizing and condescending verbiage, is now the law of the land....

Thus, it appears there may now be, at minimum ... concurrent jurisdiction between the state and federal courts with regard to marriage/divorce litigation. Perhaps even more troubling, however, is that there may also now be a new or enhanced field of jurisprudence— federal preemption by " judicial fiat." ...

[R]egardless of the states' traditional regulation of the area of marriage and divorce..., what actually appears to be the intent and ( more importantly) the effect of the Supreme Court ruling is to preempt state courts from addressing marriage/ divorce litigation altogether. ...

The conclusion reached by this Court is that Tennesseans, corporately, have been deemed by the U.S. Supreme Court to be incompetent to define and address such keystone/ central institutions such as marriage and, thereby, at minimum, contested divorces. Consequently, since only our federal courts are wise enough to address the issues of marriage— and therefore contested divorces— it only follows that this Court' s jurisdiction has been preempted. ...

Although this Court has some vague familiarity with the governmental theories of democracy, republicanism, socialism, communism, fascism, theocracy, and even despotism, implementation of this apparently new "super -federal -judicial" form of benign and benevolent government, termed " krytocracy" by some and " judi-idiocracy" by others, with its iron fist and limp wrist, represents quite a challenge for a state level trial court. In any event, it should be noted that the victory of personal rights and liberty over the intrusion of state government provided by the majority opinion in Obergefell is held by this Court only to have divested subject matter jurisdiction from this Court when a divorce is contested.

Huffington Post reports on the decision.

Oregon Judge Creates Legal Defense Fund After Refusal To Perform Same-Sex Marriages

In Marion County, Oregon, Circuit Judge Vance Day, former chairman of the state Republican Party, has apparently decided for religious reasons not to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies.  This has led to inquiries by the Oregon Commission on Judicial Fitness and Disability as to whether Day has violated the Oregon Code of Judicial Conduct or the Oregon Constitution.  The Oregonian reports that yesterday the Oregon Government Ethics Commission voted unanimously to approve Day's request to establish a legal defense fund in connection with these inquiries.

Recalcitrant Kentucky County Clerk Jailed For Contempt; Deputies Will Issue Marriage Licenses

In Ashland, Kentucky today, federal district judge David Bunning ordered Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis to be remanded to the custody of U.S. Marshals after she told the court that her religious objections to same-sex marriage prevent her from complying with the court's preliminary injunction ordering her to end her office's refusal to issue marriage licences. (See prior posting.)  According to the ACLU, the court also granted its motion and clarified that the preliminary injunction requires Davis' office to issue marriage licenses to all eligible couples in Rowan County, and not just to the four couples named as plaintiffs in the case.  [UPDATE: Full text of order.] The Lexington Herald-Leader reports on what happened then:

After U.S. marshals took Davis into custody, where she is expected to remain until she agrees to comply with Bunning's order, the judge ordered her six deputy clerks to stand and tell him if they would comply with his order to issue marriage licenses, at the risk of facing their own contempt penalties.

All but one of the deputies — Nathan Davis, Kim Davis' son — said they would obey the judge, some more reluctantly than others..... Bunning said he would not hold the younger Davis in contempt since the rest of his colleagues are willing to obey the law.

So on Friday, the Rowan County clerk's office is set to open without its clerk, for the first time recognizing the Supreme Court's landmark gay marriage decision....

Later in the day, after Bunning established that five of Davis' deputy clerks were willing to issue marriage licenses, Davis' lawyers asked the judge to reconsider sending her to jail. If the people of Rowan County can get a marriage license from the clerk's office, even if it's over Davis' objections, then surely the judge's order is satisfied, the lawyers said.

But Davis scotched that effort by informing Bunning, from a courthouse holding cell, that she would not agree to let her deputies obey the judge's order if she is released. With a shrug, Bunning said Davis will remain incarcerated for at least a week, until he can review how her office operates in her absence. She was taken to the Carter County jail but can free herself by agreeing to comply with his order, Bunning said.

Davis' lawyers released a statement today, saying in part:

All [Davis] asks is to be true to God and her conscience. And the tragedy is that there are simple ways to accommodate her convictions. Just remove her name from the marriage licenses. That’s all she has asked from the beginning. Today’s events will escalate this debate to a new level. This is not the kind of America the Founders envisioned or that most Americans want.”

According to the Louisville Courier-Journal, there remains a question of whether licenses issued by deputy clerks are legally valid under Kentucky law if issued without Davis' consent. Judge Bunning said that couples would need to assess that risk on their own.

Kentucky County Clerk Continues To Refuse To Issue Marriage Licences; Contempt Motion Filed

As reported by the New York Times, Rowan County, Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis yesterday continued to refuse to allow her office to issue marriage licenses because of her religious objections to same-sex marriage, even though the U.S. Supreme Court refused to extend the stay of a district court's ruling against Davis. She told protesters that in refusing to issue licences, she was acting "under God's authority."  In a statement (full text) issued through her lawyers, Davis explained:

To issue a marriage license which conflicts with God’s definition of marriage, with my name affixed to the certificate, would violate my conscience. It is not a light issue for me. It is a Heaven or Hell decision. For me it is a decision of obedience. I have no animosity toward anyone and harbor no ill will. To me this has never been a gay or lesbian issue. It is about marriage and God’s word.

So, as announced by the ACLU, yesterday same-sex couples filed a motion (full text) asking the federal district court to hold Davis in contempt.  Plaintiffs also filed a second motion (full text) asking the district court to clarify that its original preliminary injunction requires Davis to issue marriage licenses not just to the named plaintiffs in the lawsuit, but to all individuals who are legally eligible to marry in Kentucky.  The district court has scheduled a contempt hearing for Thursday.

UPDATE: Here is Davis' formal court filing responding to the motion to hold her in contempt.