Kentucky’s new Republican governor wasted no time in fulfilling a promise to county clerk Kim Davis.
After Kim Davis was elected Rowan County Clerk last year, she worked hard, from January to July, begging the state legislature to change the law and remove the requirement that the name and signature of the county clerk be included on a marriage license in order for it to be legal.
She failed.
Davis ultimately went to jail rather than comply with that law, and her name has never appeared on any marriage license of a same-sex couple, which she believes would be the same as saying she condones same-sex marriage.
Now, Kim Davis will never again need to worry about having her name and signature affixed to a marriage license of a same-sex couple.
Newly elected Governor Matt Bevin (photo, center, flanked by Davis and her husband) has kept his campaign promise to Davis, and just issued an executive order to circumvent state law. Now, even though Bevin, some say, does not the the legal authority to do so, marriage licenses will not have the county clerk’s name and signature on them in the state of Kentucky.
Many believe Bevin, who is only the second Republican to be elected governor in Kentucky in over 40 years, won because of his vocal support for Kim Davis.
Bevin, a Tea Party Republican who has never before held elected office, issued five executive orders today, including one that revokes the right of convicted felons who have completed their sentences to vote, a right granted by his Democratic predecessor.
“While I have been a vocal supporter of the restoration of rights, for example, it is an issue that must be addressed through the legislature,” Bevin told reporters today, ignoring that the same applies to marriage licenses.
Bevin had advocated for Davis while running for governor, visited her when she was in jail, and publicly asked outgoing Governor Steve Beshear to change the marriage license forms to accommodate Davis. Beshear refused, rightly stating that state lawmakers determine what must appear on that document.
In his first press conference after being elected, Bevin promised one of his first acts would be to make the changes Kim Davis had requested.
“One thing I will take care of right away is we will remove the names of the county clerks from the marriage form,†Bevin had promised.
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