A federal judge in Kentucky ordered Rowan County clerk Kim Davis released from jail today. The same judge jailed Davis last week for refusing to issue gay marriages because doing so would conflict with her religious beliefs.
The news comes as GOP presidential hopefuls Mike Huckabee and Ted Cruz were scheduled to visit Davis in jail today during campaign stops in Kentucky.
Huckabee accused California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom of performing gay weddings as the mayor of San Francisco — even though gay marriage was illegal at the time. “Did he ever get put in jail? He most certainly did not,” Huckabee told The Daily Caller.
“It was only his 12th day as mayor of San Francisco, but @GavinNewsom decided… he was going to defy California law,” Huckabee tweeted.
In a tense Twitter.com exchange with Newsome, Huckabee accused Newsome of creating “a month-long carnival of civil disobedience inside City Hall.”
Other Republicans criticized the liberal judge for grandstanding and for using Davis as a political pawn by jailing her without bail for a minor infraction.
Republican presidential candidate Sen. Rand Paul said the judge made a mistake.
“I think it’s a mistake by the judge to put her in jail,” he told Fox News. “I think putting people in jail is an absurd punishment.”
Rand said the 2013 Religious Freedom Restoration act does allow for elected officials to opt out of issuing gay marriage licenses.
It comes as no surprise that the judge was appointed to the bench by gay rights activist President Obama.
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