Huckabee doubles down on defense of Kentucky clerk

by Ben Kamisar - 09/16/15 9:36 PM ET

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee doubled down Wednesday on his defense of the Kentucky clerk briefly jailed for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, suggesting that such “accommodations” were instead made to Muslim radicals, including Guantanamo Bay detainees.

“We made accommodations to the Fort Hood shooter to let him grow a beard; we made accommodations to the detainees at Gitmo,” Huckabee said during the GOP presidential debate, referring to a Muslim soldier who killed 13 people at an Army base and enemy combatants held at the Guantanamo Bay military prison.

“You’re telling me that you cannot make an accommodation for an elected Democrat county clerk from Rowan County, Kentucky? What else is it other than the criminalization of her faith and the exultation of the faith of everyone else who might be a Fort Hood shooter or a detainee at Gitmo?”

Huckabee flocked to the defense of the clerk, Kim Davis, who spent five days in jail for contempt after arguing that her Christian faith wouldn’t allow her to sign off on licenses sanctioning same-sex marriages. He held a rally for Davis after her release and stood alongside her as she left the jail.

Debate moderator Jake Tapper pivoted to former Gov. Jeb Bush (Fla.), who had previously said that Davis must uphold the law. Bush tried to strike a middle ground, saying that “religious conscience is a first freedom,” but he reiterated that the law has to be followed.

“In a big, tolerant country, we should respect the rule of law. … I was opposed to the [Supreme Court] decision, but we can’t just say gays can’t get married now,” he said. “But this woman — there should be some accommodation for her conscience, just as their should be for people, florists that don’t want to participate in weddings, or bakers.”