A Kentucky clerk who is refusing to grant marriage licenses to gay couples is set to become an issue in the state’s gubernatorial race, as the leading Republican and Democratic candidates take opposing views of her actions.
“I absolutely support her willingness to stand on her First Amendment rights,” said GOP Kentucky gubernatorial candidate Matt Bevin on a national conference call, according to The Courier-Journal. “Without any question I support her.”
He also used the controversy surrounding Rowan County Kim Davis — who will appear in front of a federal judge Thursday for her continued refusal to grant the licenses — to criticize the Democratic nominee for governor, Jack Conway, who as state attorney general refused to appeal a federal court decision that struck down the Kentucky’s same-sex marriage ban.
“There are stark, stark contrasts between myself and Jack Conway,” Bevin said. “His hypocrisy on this issue to say his conscience, not his constitutional right, prevented him from doing his job but he has come out and been on the record as stating these clerks need to do their job or quit.”
A spokesman for Conway’s campaign told The Courier-Journal that the Democrat “believes it’s time to move forward because the good-paying jobs are going to states with policies of inclusivity.”
