The county clerk in Kentucky, who refuses to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, will now have to explain her actions to a federal judge, reported Talking Points Memo.

Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis and her staff will appear before a federal judge to explain why they shouldn’t either be fined or receive jail time for ignoring a federal order, and violating same-sex couples’ constitutional rights. Davis, invoking “God’s authority,” has used her religious beliefs to repeatedly deny marriage rights to same-sex couples.

Legally, Davis has no right to refuse the sanctioning of gay marriage. The attorneys of two gay couples suing Davis urge the federal judge to “impose financial penalties sufficiently serious and increasingly onerous”, “[s]ince Defendant Davis continues to collect compensation from the Commonwealth for duties she fails to perform.” 

Watch protesters confront Davis for not sanctioning same-sex marriage.