Jamaican News

Kentucky clerk jailed for defying court on gay marriage to attend State of the Union speech

Kim Davis

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) _ The Kentucky clerk who spent five days in jail for refusing to license same-sex marriages in defiance of federal court orders has been given tickets to President Barack Obama’s final State of the Union address, an invite-only event for members of Congress.

But who invited Kim Davis and her attorney to Tuesday night’s speech remains a mystery.

Every lawmaker gets one guest ticket to Obama’s annual speech, though congressional leaders get extras.

Davis’ lawyer, Mat Staver, declined to identify the members of Congress who extended the invitations, saying only that it was not a lawmaker from her home state. He said he didn’t want the identity of the person who extended the invitation to eclipse “Kim Davis and what she stands for.”

First lady Michelle Obama, on the other hand, invited Jim Obergefell, the lead plaintiff in the case in which the U.S. Supreme Court effectively legalized gay marriage across the nation. He will sit in the box with the first lady.

After the Supreme Court’s decision, Davis cited “God’s authority” and refused to issue marriage licenses. She quickly became a darling of the religious right.

The Family Research Council, a conservative organization that opposes gay marriage, arranged the invitation, said spokesman J.P. Duffy. That group declined to identify the lawmakers who gave them passes.

Staver said they would be sitting in the House chamber “to stand for religious freedom and to represent Judeo-Christian values.”

Photo: i.dailymail.co.uk

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