A deputy for the Kentucky county clerk who was jailed after refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay couples questioned on Friday the validity of the licenses he has issued since his boss' return.
In a filing with the federal judge overseeing a lawsuit against Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis for not issuing marriage licenses, the attorney for deputy clerk Brian Mason said he has "some substantial questions" about the new licenses Davis altered and gave him to issue after she returned to work on Monday.
He is concerned the licenses do not mention the name of the county. Davis has directed him to sign the licenses as a notary public, instead of as a deputy county clerk, Mason's attorney, Richard Hughes, said in the documents.
While Davis also does not believe the licenses are valid, no one has challenged their legality in court. Both the state's governor and attorney general have said the new licenses are valid.
The issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples in Kentucky and other states has become the latest focal point in a long-running debate over gay marriage in the United States.