A Kentucky county clerk on Tuesday rejected requests for marriage licenses for two same-sex couples despite a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court's against the clerk, according to media reports.
The top U.S. court on Monday turned down Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis' request for an emergency order allowing her to continue to deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples while she appeals a federal judge's order requiring her to do so.
Davis' office rejected requests for marriage licenses for the first two same-sex couples to enter the courthouse on Tuesday, the Washington Post reported.
James Yates and Will Smith Jr. marched into Rowan County clerk Kim Davis' office, their fifth attempt to obtain a marriage license, and they once again were turned away.
They left red-eyed and shaking, and declined to talk to reporters gathered at the office.
Her office could not immediately be reached for comment, but Kentucky Public Radio quoted Davis as saying on Tuesday that she made the decision to continue denying marriage licenses "under God's authority."
Davis has refused to issue any marriage licenses since the U.S. Supreme Court in June ruled that same-sex couples had the right to marry under the U.S. Constitution.
Davis contends that to approve marriage licenses for same-sex applicants would violate her deeply held religious belief that matrimony is between one man and one woman.
Eight people filed a federal lawsuit against Davis in July challenging her office's policy of not issuing marriage licenses to any couples - gay or straight. Gay couples requesting licenses have been turned away.
On Tuesday, law enforcement authorities cleared out the office of the hundreds of people packed inside to support both sides of the issue. The two groups lined up on either side of the courthouse entrance to chant at each other.
David Ermold has been rejected by Davis' office four times. He said: "I feel like I've been humiliated on such a national level."
He hugged David Moore, his partner of 17 years. They cried as Davis's supporters marched by shouting, "Stand firm."
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to intervene in the case, leaving Davis no legal grounds to refuse to grant licenses. A district judge could now hold her in contempt, which can carry steep fines or jail time
The rejected couples' supporters called the American Civil Liberties Union, which filed the lawsuit on their behalf. They asked that their attorneys file to have Davis held in contempt.
Randy Smith, leading the group supporting Davis, says he knows following their instruction to "stand firm" might mean Davis goes to jail on contempt charges.
He said: "But at the end of the day, we have to stand before God, which has higher authority than the Supreme Court."
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