Kim Davis Supporters Hold Rally Outside Detention Center

Kim Davis, the Rowan County (Kentucky) clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, was recently found in contempt of court and placed in jail. On September 5th, supporters of Kim Davis attended a prayer rally outside the Carter County Detention Center in Grayson, Kentucky. In a video posted on YouTube, attendees carried signs that read "Acts 5:29 We Ought to Obey God Rather Than Men", "The Laws of Man Versus the Laws of God", and "Kim Davis for President".
According to the Associated Press, rally organizers distributed flyers to attendees encouraging them to support Davis through prayer and letter-writing. The flyers reportedly accuse "wicked" people of trying to make an example out of Davis and criticize America for "celebrating sexual perversion and imprisoning Christian dissidents".

Rally participants were not fond of District Judge David Bunning, who found Davis in contempt of court and ordered marshals to take her into custody. According to the Associated Press, one man carried a sign calling Bunning an "abomination". AP also reports that local preacher Randy Smith urged Judge David Bunning to "get saved", even though Bunning is already a devout Catholic. Smith reportedly encouraged listeners to pray and fast in response to "unlawful tyranny".

Today's event wasn't the first time that opponents of same-sex marriage attended a rally in Davis' honor. On August 22nd, Davis and her supporters gathered for a rally behind the capitol building in Frankfort, Kentucky as supporters of LGBTQ equality held a competing rally along the Kentucky River, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader and Towleroad.






The Kim Davis controversy allows the Religious Right to indulge in fantasies of Christian persecution and martyrdom, as these rallies demonstrate. Attendees ignore the fact that Davis was incarcerated for contempt of court, not her beliefs. It never occurs to the attendees of these rallies that Davis was wrong to discriminate against same-sex couples and wrong to neglect the responsibilities of her office. Contrary to what rally attendees think, religious freedom does not excuse her actions.