White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the penalty for the Kentucky clerk refusing to issue marriage licenses for same-sex couples is a matter of the rule of law in the United States.
"I would just say on principle that the success of our democracy depends on rule of law," Earnest said Thursday. "And there is no public official that is above the law, certainly not the president of the United States. But neither is the the Rowan County clerk. That's a principle that is enshrined in our Constitution and in our democracy and its one obviously the courts are seeking to uphold. "
Earlier Thursday, a judge ordered Kim Davis to jail for contempt of court for refusing an order to issue marriage licenses for same-sex couples. She says doing so would violate her Christian faith.
Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis listens to a customer following her office's refusal to issue marriage licenses at the Rowan County Courthouse in Morehead, Ky., Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2015. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
Earnest said he hasn't spoken to President Barack Obama about the matter, and is limited on what he can say, but spoke generally.
Another reporter asked if Davis should be forced to go to jail.
"This is a decision that is supposed to be made by a federal judge, so I would not, from this vantage point, second-guess those decisions," Earnest said. "The principle of the rule of law is central to our democracy. It's appropriate in this instance for a federal judge to determine the best way to enforce the law."
