[JURIST] A Kentucky county clerk on Thursday again denied a same-sex couple’s request for a marriage license, despite a federal appeals court order. Kim Davis, the clerk for Rowan county, has declined to extend marriage licenses to same-sex couples following the US Supreme Court [official website] decision in Obergefell v. Hodges [opinion, PDF], claiming that to do so would infringe upon her religious freedoms as a devout Christian. The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit [official website] on Wednesday refused to stay [JURIST report] a preliminary injection requiring Davis to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The Rowan County Clerk’s office continues [NPR report] to deny licenses, pointing to a statement by the district judge which Davis claims allows a delay until Aug 31.

Introductions of religious exemption bills and refusals to issue licenses have been occurring around the country. In July a federal judge ordered [JURIST report] all Louisiana officials to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Earlier that month a judge for the US District Court for the Southern District of Alabama issued an order [JURIST report] that all Alabama counties must abide by the Supreme Court ruling allowing same-sex marriage. In June the North Carolina House of Representatives passed a law that would allow some court officials to refuse to perform same-sex marriages based on their religious beliefs, overriding a veto [JURIST reports] by Governor Pat McCroy. In May Louisiana legislatures rejected a religious objections bill [JURIST report] that was pushed by Governor Bobby Jindal. A House legal committee voted 10-2 [AP report] to kill the bill, ending weeks of serious debate. However, in an effort to solicit Christian conservatives for his likely presidential bid in 2016, Jindal immediately responded by issuing an executive order aimed at doing essentially the same thing as the bill, just on a smaller scale.