Federal Judge Grants Kim Davis Approval to Issue Marriage Licenses Without Her Name

Yesterday, a federal judge ruled that marriage licenses issued from the office of infamous Kentucky clerk Kim Davis were valid even without her name.

Davis became the center of a legal firestorm last year when she refused to issue marriage licenses to gay couples for religious reasons and was briefly jailed for contempt of court. Davis again refused to issue licenses and removed her name, title, and personal authorization from her office’s license forms upon her return, which invited questions of whether she violated her release terms.

U.S. District Judge David Bunning denied the American Civil Liberties Union’s request to change the forms back, saying that Davis didn’t interfere with her subordinates as they issued licenses. Bunning said that the court would continue to monitor Davis’ office, but the judge wrote that “there was every reason to believe” that state officials would accept the forms in their altered state.

Bunning’s decision comes off of an executive order from Kentucky governor Matt Bevin declaring that the names of county clerks be stricken from the forms to accommodate religious beliefs. ACLU Staff Attorney Ria Mar pledged to continue the effort to make sure Kentucky state courts honored the new forms, while Davis’ representation applauded the ruling.

[h/t NBC]
[Image via screengrab]

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