A search for compromise as county clerks stop same-sex marriages

(The Christian Science Monitor) As a number of county clerks in Kentucky, Texas, Alabama, and other states resist issuing marriage licenses for same-sex couples, some longtime advocates for marriage equality say it may be time to compromise.

Two months after the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling made same-sex marriage a constitutional right, for many religious conservatives the cultural battle now turns toward whether those with deeply held religious beliefs, including public officials, should be compelled to participate in public duties that are anathema to their faiths.

Kim Davis, clerk of Kentucky’s Rowan County, has refused to issue any marriage licenses since June, defying the Supreme Court and an order from the state’s governor Steve Beshear. In mid-August U.S. District judge David Bunning ruled that she must begin issuing licenses to gay and lesbian couples. However, Bunning stayed his ruling, noting “emotions are running high on both sides of this debate” and giving Davis time to bring her First Amendment claims to the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.