POLL: Most Americans Want Kim Davis to Do Her Job

The survey found overwhelming support for equality trumping religious objections.

Dawn Ennis

The Advocate's news editor Dawn Ennis successfully transitioned from broadcast journalism to online media following another transition that made headlines; in 2013, she became the first trans staffer in any major TV network newsroom. As the first out transgender editor at The Advocate, the native New Yorker continues her 30-year media career, in which she has earned more than a dozen awards, including two Emmys. With the blessing of her three children, Dawn retains the most important job title she's ever held: Dad.

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Dawn Ennis

September 15 2015 1:53 PM EST

September 15 2015 6:53 PM EST

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A new poll shows most Americans want officials to ensure that antigay Kentucky clerk Kim Davis does her job, namely issue marriage licenses to all eligible couples, including same-sex pairs.

Davis returned to work Monday in Rowan County and did not block her staff from issuing any licenses, as ordered by the courts and Kentucky's governor. David did refuse to authorize licenses for same-sex couples, throwing their validity into question.

The Washington Post-ABC News poll found 63 percent of those surveyed say Davis should be required to do so regardless of her religious objections.

According to pollsters, almost one in two, or 45 percent, approved of the decision by a federal judge to send Davis to jail for not complying with his order to issue those licenses. And 16 percent preferred that Davis be forced to issue the licenses but were against sending her to jail for her refusal.

Nearly three-quarters of respondents said that when civil rights and religious beliefs conflict, it is more important to treat everyone equally than to accommodate someone's objections based on faith. And it wasn't just Democrats but Republicans, liberals, and conservatives who offered broad support for that concept.

The Post-ABC poll was conducted Septembewr 7-10 among a random national sample of 1,003 adults, including land-line and cellp hone respondents. Overall results have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.