AP Photo/Timothy D. EasleyJames Yates and William Smith Jr. just want to get married, but clerks at the Rowan County Courthouse in Kentucky denied them a license for the third time in recent weeks.
A couple for nearly a decade, Yates and Smith told USA Today that they wouldn't give up, given it's now their Constitutional right to get married. "It's just making us want to press more," Yates said. "[Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis] can't get away with this because it will open the door for so many other rights to be just thrown away."
Yates and Smith aren't the only couple in Rowan County to have been denied a license. Davis has been refusing to issue licenses to all same-sex couples since the Supreme Court made its ruling two months ago. There are a handful of other couples still waiting to receive licenses, but the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined to stay an injunction against Davis, according to the newspaper.
"They don't like gays, and they don't want them to get married," he said outside the courthouse. "And they will burn the earth and not let straight people in Rowan County get married either."
Smith claims Davis is "hiding behind religion" in order to not provide licenses, which is the last thing the couple ever expected as their town always has been friendly and open to the LGBT community. As an Apostolic Christian, Davis argues that approving licenses violates her beliefs.
"We should be celebrating right now, enjoying our lives together and enjoying the fact that we could spend our lives together and have it recognized by our country," Smith said. "Now we are just kind of on nerves."
U.S. District Court Judge David Bunning granted a preliminary injunction against Davis, writing her religious beliefs cannot prevent her from performing her legal obligations. She has since appealed the order.
Yates and Smith are going to continue to try to receive a license once the temporary stay expires, but they're not feeling optimistic. The couple is convinced Davis will find other ways to stall. "They are ignoring this ruling," Davis said. "Why would they follow the next one?"
Word of Davis' actions has started to spread, and a small group has protested the police outside the courthouse daily. A large rally is set to take place on the courthouse lawn Saturday.
Watch the video below to hear Colin Farrell's exciting thoughts about gay marriage in Ireland.