Ashland, Ky. • A defiant county clerk went to jail Thursday for refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay couples, but five of her deputies agreed to issue the licenses themselves, potentially ending the church-state standoff in Rowan County, Ky.
U.S. District Judge David Bunning said he had no choice but to jail Kim Davis for contempt after she insisted that her "conscience will not allow" her to follow federal court rulings on gay marriage.
"God's moral law conflicts with my job duties," Davis told the judge before she was taken away by a U.S. marshal. "You can't be separated from something that's in your heart and in your soul."
Bunning offered to release Davis if she would promise not to interfere with her employees issuing marriage licenses Friday morning. But Davis, through her attorneys, rejected that offer and chose to stay in jail.
Gay and lesbian couples vowed to appear at the Rowan County clerk's office for the fifth time on Friday to see if the deputy clerks would keep their promises.
"We're going to the courthouse tomorrow to get our marriage license and we're very excited about that," said April Miller, who has been engaged to Karen Roberts for 11 years.
As word of Davis' jailing spread outside the federal courthouse, hundreds of people chanted and screamed, "Love wins! Love wins!" while Davis' supporters booed.
Davis' lawyer, Roger Gannam, said it was the first time in history an American citizen has been jailed for believing that marriage is a union between one man and one woman. He compared her willingness to accept imprisonment to what Martin Luther King Jr. did to advance civil rights.
"Kim Davis represents the best of us, and everyone should lament and mourn the fact that her freedom has been taken away for what she believes," Gannam said.
Laura Landenwich, an attorney for the plaintiffs, rejected the comparison.
"Ms. Davis is in an unfortunate situation of her own creation. She is not a martyr. No one created a martyr today," Landenwich said, adding "she holds the keys to her jail cell."
Speaking earlier from the bench, Bunning said it would set up a "slippery slope" to allow an individual's ideas to supersede the courts' authority.
"Her good faith belief is simply not a viable defense," Bunning said. "I myself have genuinely held religious beliefs ... but I took an oath."
"Mrs. Davis took an oath," he added. "Oaths mean things."
Davis is represented by the Liberty Counsel, which advocates in court for religious freedom. Before she was led away, Davis said the U.S. Supreme Court ruling legalizing gay marriage nationwide conflicts with the vows she made when she became a born-again Christian.
"I promised to love Him with all my heart, mind and soul because I wanted to make heaven my home," Davis said.
Miller and Roberts were denied a marriage license four times by Davis or her deputies since the June ruling. Miller testified that one of the deputy clerks told her to apply in another county. "That's kind of like saying we don't want gays or lesbians here. We don't think you are valuable," she said.
Rather than be fined, jailed or lose their jobs, five of the clerks told the judge they would issue the licenses. Her son, Nathan Davis, refused, but the judge said that wouldn't matter and he wouldn't be punished, as long as the others complied.
Davis, an Apostolic Christian, stopped serving all couples after the Supreme Court ruling in June. Many supporters and even some Republican presidential candidates have rallied behind her.
Davis said she hopes the Legislature will change Kentucky laws to find some way for her to keep her job while following her conscience. But unless the governor convenes a costly special session, they won't meet until January.
Until then, the judge said, he has no alternative but to keep her behind bars. She was taken to the Carter County Detention Center.
It's unclear exactly how long she'll remain in jail. Davis' attorneys said the judge's order would keep her in jail indefinitely. But Bunning indicated he would revisit his decision in a week, giving the deputy clerks time to comply with his order.
Edgar Orea, left, and Dwayne D. Beebe-Franqui argue on the steps of the Carl D. Perkins Federal Building in Ashland, Ky., Thursday, Sept. 3, 2015. Orea, a supporter of Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis, and Beebe-Franqui a supporter of same sex marriage were waiting for the arrival of Kim Davis in Federal Court. Davis and her deputy clerks have been summoned to a hearing Thursday before Judge David Bunning. Davis stopped issuing licenses to all couples in June after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized gay marriage. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
Edgar Orea, left, and Dwayne D. Beebe-Franqui argue on the steps of the Carl D. Perkins Federal Building in Ashland, Ky., Thursday, Sept. 3, 2015. Orea, a supporter of Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis, and Beebe-Franqui a supporter of same sex marriage were waiting for the arrival of Kim Davis in Federal Court. Davis and her deputy clerks have been summoned to a hearing Thursday before Judge David Bunning. Davis stopped issuing licenses to all couples in June after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized gay marriage. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
Anthony Carroill of Flat Woods, Ky., waits for the arrival of Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis at the Carl D. Perkins Federal building in Ashland, Ky., Thursday, Sept. 3, 2015. Davis and her deputy clerks have been summoned to a hearing Thursday before Judge David Bunning to explain why she is refusing to issue marriage licenses despite a federal order to do so. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
Anthony Carroill of Flat Woods, Ky., waits for the arrival of Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis at the Carl D. Perkins Federal building in Ashland, Ky., Thursday, Sept. 3, 2015. Davis and her deputy clerks have been summoned to a hearing Thursday before Judge David Bunning to explain why she is refusing to issue marriage licenses despite a federal order to do so. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
A protester waives a rainbow flag outside the Carl D. Perkins Federal Building in Ashland, Ky., Thursday, Sept. 3, 2015. Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis has defied federal court orders to hand out marriage licenses, saying her religious beliefs don't let her endorse same-sex marriage. A judge has ordered her to appear Thursday. If she continues to refuse to follow the law, she could be hit with fines or jail time. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
A protester reads bible scripture to the protesters gathered at the Carl D. Perkins Federal Building in Ashland, Ky., Thursday, Sept. 3, 2015. Hundreds gathered on the steps on the courthouse waiting for Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis to arrive following her order to appear to explain why she is refusing to issue marriage licenses despite a federal order to do so. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
Al Black of Proctorville, Ohio, sits in protest in front of the Carl D. Perkins Federal Building in Ashland, Ky., Thursday, Sept. 3, 2015. Black, a supporter of Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis, was waiting for her arrival as she was ordered to appear in Federal Court to explain why she is refusing to issue marriage licenses despite a federal order to do so. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
Jonathan Beebe-Franqui, left, and his husband Dwayne D. Beebe-Franqui embrace as they wait for the arrival of Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis at the Carl D. Perkins Federal Building in Ashland, Ky., Thursday, Sept. 3, 2015. Davis has been ordered to appear in Federal Court to explain why she is refusing to issue marriage licenses despite a federal order to do so. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
Edgar Orea, right, preaches to a group of same sex marriage supporters that have gathered outside the Carl D. Perkins Federal Building in Ashland, Ky., Thursday, Sept. 3, 2015. Hundreds gathered awaiting the arrival of Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis who has been ordered to appear in federal court to explain why she is refusing to issue marriage licenses despite a federal order to do so.(AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
Edgar Orea preaches to the same sex marriage supporters that have gathered outside the Carl D. Perkins Federal Building in Ashland, Ky., Thursday, Sept. 3, 2015. Hundreds gathered awaiting the arrival of Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis who has been ordered to appear in federal court to explain why she is refusing to issue marriage licenses despite a federal order to do so.(AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
Jonathan Beebe-Franqui, right, and his husband Dwayne D. Beebe-Franqui embrace as they wait for the arrival of Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis at the Carl D. Perkins Federal Building in Ashland, Ky., Thursday, Sept. 3, 2015. Davis has been ordered to appear in Federal Court to explain why she is refusing to issue marriage licenses despite a federal order to do so. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis listens to a customer following her office's refusal to issue marriage licenses at the Rowan County Courthouse in Morehead, Ky., Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2015. Although her appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court was denied, Davis still refuses to issue marriage licenses. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
This Thursday, Aug. 3, 2015 photo made available by the Carter County Detention Center shows Kim Davis. The Rowan County, Ky. clerk went to jail Thursday for refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay couples, but five of her deputies agreed to comply with the law, ending a two-month standoff. (Carter County Detention Center via AP)
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