[JURIST] Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin [official website] on Tuesday signed an executive order [text, PDF] to no longer require county clerks’ names to appear on marriage licenses. The follows the refusal by county clerk Kim Davis [JURIST report] to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, arguing that her Christian faith should exempt her. The order cites the Kentucky Religious Freedom Restoration Act, concluding that placing one’s name on same-sex marriage licenses could substantially burden one’s freedom of religion. Bevin also included in the order a new official certificate of marriage form eliminating the area for the name of the county clerk.

Following the US Supreme Court [official website] ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges [JURIST report] in June, Davis refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex or heterosexual couples arguing that her Christian faith should exempt her from issuing the licenses to same-sex couples. The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ordered [JURIST report] Davis to issue the licenses in August, but she continued to refuse [JURIST report]. The following week, the Supreme Court denied [JURIST report] her bid to continue refusing to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples pending an appeal. A federal judge held Davis in contempt of court [JURIST report] in September for her continued refusal, releasing her after several days in jail. Davis claimed upon returning to work that she would not block her clerks [JURIST report] from issuing the licenses.