Kentucky Republican Gov. Matt Bevin ordered the
state to prepare new marriage licenses that do
not include the names of county clerks, in an
attempt to protect the religious beliefs of clerk
Kim Davis and other local elected officials.
Bevin said he directed the Kentucky Department
of Libraries and Archives to issue the revised
marriage license forms to all county clerks. The
executive order comes after Davis, the Rowan
County clerk, spent five days in jail for refusing to
issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Davis said she could not issue the licenses
because they had her name on them.
Bevin said he issued the executive order to
"ensure that the sincerely held religious beliefs of
all Kentuckians are honored." It was one of five
executive orders he issued Tuesday, the first of
his administration, that mostly revised or
suspended recent actions by former Democratic
Gov. Steve Beshear.
"Today, I took action to uphold several
commitments I made during my campaign
so that we can implement real solutions
that will help the people of Kentucky," Bevin
said in a news release.
It's unclear how Bevin's order will affect a federal
lawsuit brought by four couples against Davis.
One of Davis' deputy clerks has been issuing
altered marriage licenses to eligible couples since
September. They do not include Davis' name or
the name of the county.
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