Kim Davis, the clerk of Rowan County, Kentucky, continued to deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples Tuesday, in defiance of the Supreme Court’s direct order that she do so. Davis, an elected official, had asked to be excused from that part of her job on religious grounds. The Court denied her appeal Monday.

Davis herself was reportedly not working the desk when two same-sex couples came in to get their licenses Tuesday morning, but her staff turned the couples down on her instruction.

She briefly came out of her office and had this exchange with the press and waiting couples:

“Under whose authority are you not issuing licenses?”

“Under God’s authority,” Davis replied.

The couples appealed to Morehead Sheriff Matt Clark, the Washington Post reports, but he told them there was nothing he could do to enforce the Supreme Court’s decision.

“She will likely be found in contempt, as we know,” he said.

Davis faces fines or jail time if she doesn’t begin issuing the licenses Tuesday.

Update: The ACLU, on behalf of the plaintiff couples in the case, has filed a motion to hold Davis in contempt of court, asking that she be fined but not incarcerated.

[Photo: AP Images]