September 8, 2015

Defiant Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis Was Just Released from Jail

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Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue any marriage licenses because of her objection to gay marriage, was met on Thursday afternoon by a large, raucous crowd of supporters after spending over five days in jail. In front of news cameras, a visibly emotional Davis left most of the talking her lawyer, and to Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee, who declared Davis “an incredibly brave lady.”

US District Judge David Bunning, who held Davis in contempt last Thursday, ordered her release this morning after receiving a report that the Rowan County clerk’s office is now complying with the court’s ruling. But the judge threatened additional sanctions if Davis impedes the process, and has called for status reports to be filed every two weeks. From The New York Times:

In a two-page order issued Tuesday, the judge who sent her to jail, David L. Bunning of the Federal District Court, said he would release Ms. Davis because he was satisfied that her office was “fulfilling its obligation to issue marriage licenses to all legally eligible couples.”

Judge Bunning ordered that Ms. Davis “shall not interfere in any way, directly or indirectly, with the efforts of her deputy clerks to issue marriage licenses to all legally eligible couples.” He he said that any such action would be regarded as “a violation” of his released order.

Still, the storm is far from over. Davis, an Apostolic Christian who cited “God’s authority” in her refusal to adhere to the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling ending bans on gay marriage, has gained national notoriety, provoking rallies from both sides of the issue. Heralded as a hero by Christian conservatives, she was joined by Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee who spoke at the rally for her release, which he helped organize.

Watch Huckabee’s full post-release comments below, including his declaration that, “If somebody needs to go to jail, I’m willing to go in her place.”

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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