The county clerk jailed by a federal judge for denying a wedding license to a gay couple in a defense of what she believed is the biblical sanctity of marriage will stay in jail "as long as it takes," her fourth husband told reporters Friday.
But while Kim Davis sits behind bars Friday, her deputies issued a marriage license to James Yates, 41, and William Smith, Jr., 33 -- The same-sex couple she refused earlier in the week.
The federal judge who found the Rowan County, Kentucky, clerk in contempt of court for defying his order to issue marriage licenses Thursday got promises from her deputies that they would comply. This cleared the way or Yates and Smith to get licenses Friday.
The jailing of Davis has become a hot issue in the 2016 GOP presidential race with Mike Huckabee gaining attention for defending the defiant clerk.
Huckabee, in a letter to supporters, said he spoke with Davis Thursday. "I let Kim know how proud I am of her for not abandoning her religious convictions and standing strong for religious liberty," the candidate said. "She is showing more courage and humility than just about any federal officeholder in Washington."
"Kim is asking the perfect question: 'Under what law am I authorized to issue homosexual couples a marriage license?' That simple question is giving many in Congress a civics lesson that they never got in grade school," he said.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision in June that marriage is a fundamental right that can't be denied for any couples.
Gay rights advocates have suggested Davis is being selective in her choice of biblical teachings to follow since she has liberally enjoyed her own right to marry. She is on her fourth husband after three divorces, according to U.S. News & World Report.
"She gave birth to twins five months after divorcing her first husband," the report said. "They were fathered by her third husband but adopted by her second. Davis worked at the clerk's office at the time of each divorce and has since remarried."
It is unclear if Huckabee, who is an ordained minister, was aware of Davis' alleged hypocrisy. "Kim is a person of great conviction," Huckabee wrote.
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