Kim Davis' backers disappointed by remedy

MOREHEAD, Ky. — Although she returned to her office Monday, Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis remained out of sight as one of her deputies issued a heavily altered marriage license to a lesbian couple, likely shielding Davis from more jail time but not the disappointment of her fiery religious supporters.

Davis resumed work for the first time following her high-profile release from jail last week. Before opening, she told reporters that she still refuses to authorize any marriage licenses, but will not block a deputy clerk who began providing them to couples more than a week ago.

Shannon and Carmen Wampler-Collins, the only applicants Monday, slogged through a crowd of protesters and media outside the courthouse, where religiously fervent demonstrators were howling anti-gay messages and waving signs. Supporters formed a human chain to help escort them inside, but two hecklers continued to taunt them as they filled out paperwork at the counter.

Wording on the license was modified to remove any mention of Davis or her office, and the form now states that it was issued pursuant to a federal court order rather than the county clerk. A space normally signed by the deputy clerk is now signed by a "notary public."

Still, the couple said they don't have any concerns over validity since Gov. Steve Beshear, Attorney General Jack Conway and many others argue that the forms are legitimate.

“It’s a temporary patch," said Shannon Wampler-Collins. "It will work for right now, but I would like to see her resign if she is not going to do the job.”

The couple has been together for 23 years and already held a commitment ceremony in 1995. They are raising two children together, and in the worst case scenario, "we'll come back," Carmen said. "We are going forward until someone tells us otherwise.”

A tense scene inside the clerk's office was prolonged by a printer error as one man shouted that sin would separate the women from God and "there's no such thing as homosexual marriage."

Elizabeth Johnston, a protester who traveled from Ohio, accused the couple of persecuting Davis and called the deputy who issued the license a coward.

"It is a compromise to let homosexual marriages come out of this office," she said in an interview. "This is not about just Kim's name. This is about ... whether we are going to defy God who defined marriage as between one man and one woman."

Shannon Wampler-Collins said she was so happy to get the paperwork that she didn't even hear the detractors, and nearly all of Davis' supporters had left the courthouse by early afternoon.

Earlier in the day, Davis said she faced a choice between her conscience and freedom and prayed hard about her decision. She called the altered forms a remedy to reconcile her conscience with the federal injunction against her, and she bemoaned that her deputy clerks have been caught in the middle.

"If any of them feels that they must issue an unauthorized license to avoid being thrown in jail, I understand their tough choice and I will take no action against them," she said.

Davis also reiterated her plea for Beshear and legislators to rewrite state marriage laws to accommodate her religious objections. She argued that millions of others in the public and private sector face similar conflicts.

"I don't want to have this conflict. I don't want to be in the spotlight. And I certainly don't want to be a whipping post," she said. "I am no hero. I'm just a person who has been transformed by the grace of God."

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One of her attorneys, Harry Mihet, chief litigation counsel at Liberty Counsel, pledged Monday to vigorously defend her in the multiple lawsuits that resulted from her policy. He said the group will file an additional lawsuit against Beshear, who has declined to call a special session on the matter.

Revising the licenses was a "good-faith" attempt to satisfy the court and couples in the case, and U.S. District Judge David Bunning knew that the forms were being changed when he released Davis from jail, Mihet argued. He said Liberty Counsel has not discussed any challenges to the licenses issued so far.

“They will have to remain in legal limbo for now until hopefully the governor and the legislature intervenes to change the law,” he said.

But Beshear said Monday that, even with the latest changes, he was "confident and satisfied" that the licenses comply with Kentucky statute and will be recognized as valid.

Since Bunning jailed Davis for contempt of court, Deputy Clerk Brian Mason has issued around 11 licenses, mostly for same-sex couples.

When Bunning released Davis from jail on Tuesday, he warned her not to interfere with deputies and called on deputy clerks to file regular status updates.

Shannon and Carmen Wampler-Collins, who live in Lexington, Ky., said they decided to obtain a license in Rowan County because Carmen grew up in the community and wanted to show locals that it's OK to be gay. Aside from the circus outside, finally getting the form was exciting, Shannon said.

But Mary Hargis, an organizer with the Rowan County Rights Coalition, which has protested Davis' policy for weeks, called attempts to equate Davis with civil rights icons a "travesty," and said no couple should be told they are going to hell or have to endure being called sodomites just to get a license. She said legislators need to pass a law to address public officials who refuse to perform their duties.

"When (Davis) willfully decided that she was going to disobey the law, she became a criminal," Hargis said. "For whatever reason, all criminals have an excuse for their actions."

Ante Pavkovic, a pastor from North Carolina who has protested same-sex marriage outside the courthouse about two weeks, appeared conflicted over the announcement Monday. He said Davis' attorney is probably trying to protect her but failing to address the larger principles at stake. He said it's hard to know if Davis backed down or received bad legal advice.

"On appearances, it is not enough," he said. "It's yielding our republic to a rogue Supreme Court ... and that's a big mistake if that's what it is."

Reporter Mike Wynn can be reached at (502) 875-5136. Follow him on Twitter at @MikeWynn_CJ.