Kentucky Clerk's Office Refuses To Give Out Same-Sex Marriage Licenses 'On God's Authority’

Despite same-sex marriages being made legal across the U.S. one Kentucky county clerk refused to hand them out to a gay couple trying to wed.

In a tense exchange, Rowan County clerk Kim Davis’ told David Ermold and David Moore that she would not be granting them a marriage license on religious grounds.

She declared that she was denying them under “God’s authority”.

With the world’s press filming the exchange, Davis stood firm in her decision, that now goes against American law.

At one point Mr Ernold told Davis: “We’re not leaving until we have a license.

She replied: “Then you’re going to have a long day.”

Davis went on to tell them: “My beliefs cannot be separated from me.

“I’m willing to face my consequences, and you all will face your consequences when it comes time for judgement.”

Eventually she asked everyone to leave but after refusing, Davis simply walked away.

In a statement later in the day, she reaffirmed her position, saying it was not a “light issue”.

She said: “To issue a marriage license which conflicts with God’s definition of marriage, with my name affixed to the certificate, would violate my conscience.

“It is not a light issue for me. It is a Heaven or Hell decision.”

Mr Ernold said after the confrontation: "I feel sad, I feel angry, I feel devastated.

"I feel humiliated on such a national level that I can’t comprehend it. I cannot comprehend it right now.”

He has called on Davis to be fined as her salary is paid for by taxpayer money.

Davis, an Apostolic Christian, stopped issuing licenses on the same day the U.S. Supreme Court legalised gay marriage in June.

She was sued by gay and straight couples and was ordered to issue licenses by U.S. District Judge David Bunning, yet she still refused.

Davis may face prosecution for her refusal to issue the licenses on a potential state charge of official misconduct - meant for public servants who refuse to perform their duties.