In a last-minute pleading late Wednesday, Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis asked a federal judge to not hold her in contempt of court Thursday for refusing to issue marriage licenses. 
 
 Davis told U.S. District Judge David Bunning it's unfair to punish her for violating his Aug. 12 order requiring her to resume issuing marriage licenses because she "is presently unable to comply." Davis said the order "irreparably and irreversibly violates her conscience by directing her to authorize and issue same-sex marriage licenses bearing her name and approval." 
 
 Davis has refused to give anyone a marriage license since the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage June 26, citing her religious objections. A half-dozen local couples are suing her. 
 
 In her pleading, Davis also noted she has broad political support in Kentucky. 
 
 "Leading Kentucky legislators from both parties in both houses uniformly agree that the legislature needs to address the entire marriage scheme in light of (the Supreme Court decision), but also agree that Davis' religious beliefs should be, and can be, accommodated. Both gubernatorial candidates in Kentucky have indicated an intent to support county clerks' individual rights," wrote Jonathan Christman, one of Davis' attorneys. 
 
 The contempt hearing is scheduled for 11 a.m. Thursday at the U.S. District Courthouse in Ashland. 
 
 [Q&A;: What can federal judge do to make Rowan clerk obey his order to issue marriage licenses?] 
 
 [Defiant Christian public officials turn to a longtime foe of same-sex marriage for legal representation] 
 
 Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, filed a brief in the case late Wednesday asking Bunning to "delay, withhold or temper his ruling in this case until the General Assembly has an opportunity to establish new frameworks under Kentucky law." 
 
 He said the Supreme Court "completely obliterated" Kentucky's system of obtaining a marriage license. 
 
 "The General Assembly will be compelled to amend many sections of Kentucky law, not just for the issuance of marriage licenses, to comply with the recent Supreme Court decision," Stivers said in a statement. 
 
 Possible legislative responses to the clerks' protest have been discussed, including removing clerks' names from marriage license paperwork to make them feel less personally involved, or transferring the authority to issue marriage licenses to a state agency. However, lawmakers are not scheduled to convene until January. 
 
 Stivers and House Speaker Greg Stumbo both said Wednesday that they favored a special legislative session to update the state's laws on marriage. However, the lawmakers said they doubted there would be a special session because Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear has expressed no desire to call one before he leaves office in December. Only the governor may call a special session and set its agenda. 
 
 Apart from Davis, clerks in Casey and Whitley counties have refused to comply with the Supreme Court decision. 
 
 Meanwhile, U.S. Attorney Kerry B. Harvey issued a statement late Wednesday saying his office had "grave concerns" about Davis' refusal to comply with the court's order. 
 
 "It is time for the clerk and the county to follow the law," said Harvey, whose office has not been involved in the ongoing civil lawsuits. 
 
 Reporter Jack Brammer contributed to this report.John Cheves: (859) 231-3266. Twitter: @BGPolitics. Blog: Bluegrasspolitics.bloginky.com. ||||| A deputy clerk instructs Jesse Cruz, left, and Robbie Blankenship on their marriage license at the Rowan County Courthouse on Sept. 4 in Morehead, Ky. The couple had been denied a marriage license by Rowan County Clerk of Courts Kim Davis. (Ty Wright/Getty Images) 
 
 The Kentucky county clerk who landed in jail after she refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples has filed an emergency request for an exemption from the requirement to authorize gay marriages. 
 
 Kim Davis, a 49-year-old legal clerk from Rowan County, drew a national spotlight when she refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples because she said it violated her religious beliefs. 
 
 After the Supreme Court decision to legalize same-sex marriage in late June, Kentucky Gov. Steven Beshear (D) mandated county clerks to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Davis refused to comply and was sued by couples whose marriages she had refused to authorize. She was incarcerated Thursday for contempt of court. 
 
 “As a prisoner of her conscience, Davis continues to request a simple accommodation and exemption from the Governor,” Mat Staver, founder and chairman of the Christian legal organization Liberty Counsel, said in a statement on Monday. 
 
 In the new court documents, filed in the Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, Davis’s attorneys argue that the mandate is a violation of her right to free speech. They add that Davis would find it acceptable if marriage licenses are issued to same-sex couples without her name. 
 
 1 of 19 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad × The heated scene in Kentucky after clerk refuses to issue same-sex marriage licenses View Photos Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis is booked and jailed after repeatedly refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Caption Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis is booked and jailed after repeatedly refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Sept. 3, 2015 A booking photo shows Davis, who was ordered detained for her refusal to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Carter County Detention Center via AP Buy Photo Wait 1 second to continue. 
 
 “Davis faces significant, irrevocable, and irreversible harm if she is forced to authorize and approve even one same-sex marriage license with her name on it, against her religious conscience,” her attorneys wrote. 
 
 They have also appealed the contempt order that sent her to jail. 
 
 In a statement, Davis has explained her actions: 
 
 “To issue a marriage license which conflicts with God’s definition of marriage, with my name affixed to the certificate, would violate my conscience. It is not a light issue for me. It is a Heaven or Hell decision,” she said. 
 
 Last week, after federal Judge David L. Bunning jailed Davis for contempt of court, deputy clerks began to issue marriage licenses. 
 
 “It appears that the citizens of Rowan County will now have access to all the services from the clerk’s office to which they are entitled,” Beshear said in a statement. “Again, the legislature has placed the authority to issue marriage licenses squarely on county clerks by statute, and I have no legal authority to relieve them of their statutory duty by executive order.”
– Can county clerk Kim Davis refuse to issue same-sex marriage licenses, keep her job, and avoid a contempt of court charge? She seems to think so, and the president of Kentucky's senate is on her side. Davis is due before a federal judge at 11am, and in a last-minute legal filing, she argues that it would be unfair to punish her for disobeying an order that she is "presently unable" to comply with because it "irreparably and irreversibly violates her conscience," the Lexington Herald-Leader reports. Republican Senate President Robert Stivers filed a brief asking the judge to delay his ruling until the state has had a chance to change its marriage laws to accommodate Davis. "The Supreme Court ruling has completely obliterated the definition of marriage and the process for obtaining a marriage license in Kentucky," Stivers said in a statement. He wants to pass a law exempting Davis from issuing licenses, but the state legislature isn't due in session until January and Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear doesn't want to call a special session, the AP reports. Davis, whose case has already been rejected by the Supreme Court, says it would violate her conscience to "issue a marriage license which conflicts with God’s definition of marriage, with my name affixed to the certificate," and one of her lawyers tells NBC she is looking at options including issuing licenses that don't have her name on them. (Davis' own marital history is pretty tangled.)