A county clerk's office in rural Kentucky issued marriage licenses to two gay couples on Friday morning after defying a U.S. district judge's orders for months.<br />After Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis was jailed on Thursday for refusing to follow the orders of U.S. District Judge David Bunning, her deputies processed a marriage license to James Yates and William Smith, who had previously been denied one five times, after the clerk's office opened on Friday.<br />Attorneys for Davis said on Thursday she would deny her deputies the authority to issue licenses.<br />That raised questions about the validity of the documents until the matter is settled in court.<br />The issuance of the licenses followed months of legal wrangling between Davis and the courts that drew global attention and protests from supporters and opponents of gay marriage.
