Kentucky Clerk Blocking Gay Marriages Has Divorced 3 Times

The Kentucky clerk who says she's following "God's word" in her refusal to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples is a longtime civil servant with her own history of marital struggles.

Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis was divorced three times and had children out of wedlock before experiencing a religious awakening that cemented her obedience to Christian scripture — and her defiance of the country's highest court.

Her act of resistance has rocked her small Appalachia community 60 miles east of Lexington and made headlines nationwide, fed by a video of her denying a marriage license to David V. Moore and his partner of 17 years, David Ermold. The Tuesday confrontation sparked a protest inside the Rowan County Courthouse, with supporters of the couple and of Davis shouting over each other. A similar scene unfolded Wednesday, when a second same-sex couple asked for a marriage license. 

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