Edited 8/27/2015, 2:50pm
Kim Davis is now planning to ask the Supreme Court to put the injunction on hold on Friday.
Kim Davis, embattled Rowan County clerk, received some bad news last night: the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals denied her motion for a stay of the preliminary injunction pending appeal. This means that Davis must begin issuing marriage licenses to both same-sex and different-sex couples, something that she has refused to do since the Supreme Court's marriage equality decision two months ago, despite a court order on August 12.
With this news, William Smith Jr. and James Yates went to the Rowan County clerk's office to obtain their long-sought marriage license. Third time's the charm, right?
From ABC News:
"William Smith Jr. and James Yates walked out of the clerk's office, shaking their heads in bewilderment.
Two months ago, the day after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized gay marriage across the nation, Yates got down on one knee and proposed to Smith, his partner of more than a decade.
They wanted to plan a summer wedding, so went days later to Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis' office for a license, and were turned away. That first time, they were shocked by the rejection.
Davis cited her Christian belief against gay marriages and declared she would refuse licenses to all couples, gay or straight.
Two weeks ago, the morning after U.S. District Judge David Bunning ordered Davis to issue marriage licenses, Smith and Yates returned to her office. And when she rejected them again, their shock turned to anger.
On Thursday, they were turned away again.
'They just don't like gay people, they don't want us to get married,' Yates said. 'And they'd rather burn the earth and not let straight people in Rowan County get married either.'
That's a no, apparently.
Davis could face fines and jail time for her refusal to follow the court order.
Meanwhile, Casey County Clerk Casey Davis (no relation) has set off on a bike ride across Kentucky to raise awareness for Kim Davis' plight. You may remember Mr. Davis from his rant on a conservative talk radio show during which he states he would rather die than allow same-sex couples to get married.
From the same ABC News article:
"A statement from The Family Foundation says Casey Davis set off at 4:30 a.m. in Pikeville in the eastern part of the state and plans to ride to Paducah, in the western part of the state. According to Google maps, it would take 44 hours to cycle from Pikeville to Paducah, which is 461 miles.
'I cannot let my sister go to jail without my doing something to let others know about her plight,' Casey said in the statement.
Although the two are not related by blood, The Family Foundation says they are bonded by religious conviction."
So there you have it. Casey Davis is fruitlessly pedaling across the state while Kim Davis is ignoring judges and shutting her doors on taxpayers. All to keep LGBT Americans from getting married.
It would be almost funny if it weren't so damn sad.