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Saga surrounding clerk not over

OWENSBORO, Ky. — Kim Davis is out of jail and on the job, but the saga surrounding the Kentucky county clerk who has refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples appears to be far from over.

In a court filing Friday, the attorney for one of Davis’ employees said he believes Davis has again violated a federal court order by altering marriage license forms to remove her name and the name of the county. In a separate court filing, attorneys for the gay couples who sued Davis appear to agree and say they are “exploring legal options.”

Davis spent five days in jail for refusing to obey a federal judge’s ruling that she issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples to comply with a U.S. Supreme Court decision that effectively legalized gay marriage nationwide. Davis, an Apostolic Christian, believes same-sex marriage is a sin and cited “God’s authority” in refusing to obey the ruling.

U.S. District Judge David Bunning released Davis from jail on the condition she not interfere with her employees as they issue marriage licenses. When she returned to work, Davis altered the marriage forms by removing her name, making deputy clerk Brian Mason initial the form instead of sign it, and then requiring the form to be notarized.

“A notary has nothing to do with it,” Mason’s attorney, Richard Hughes, told The Associated Press after filing a status report with the judge. Hughes said it was “really bizarre” Davis would alter the forms.

“Unless she’s got a really good reason, and I’ll certainly be patient and wait to hear it, the only inference I personally can draw from it is she is trying to circumvent the court’s order,” he said.

Bunning appointed attorneys for each of Davis’ deputy clerks and asked them to file status reports every two weeks. The reports are not due until Tuesday, but Hughes filed his on Friday saying Davis’ “changes were made in some attempt to circumvent the court’s orders and may have raised to the level of interference against the court’s orders.”

“We’ll see what Judge Bunning is going to do with it,” Hughes said.

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