Lawyers for jailed Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis said on Monday they had asked an appellate court to force Gov. Steve Beshear to let her refuse to issue same-sex marriage licenses based on her religious convictions.
The lawyers sought emergency relief from the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, asking it to grant Davis an exemption from the "governor's mandate that all county clerks issue marriage licenses," the nonprofit legal advocacy group Liberty Counsel, which represents Davis, said in a news release.
"The governor's refusal to take elementary steps to protect religious liberties has now landed Kim Davis in jail," Liberty Counsel founder and Chairman Mat Staver said.