Kim Davis cowers in her office after returning to work as Rowan County clerk

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Kim Davis returned to her job as Rowan County clerk on Monday
At a press conference before court opened at 8am, she said she would not comply with a judge's order to issue marriage licenses to gay couples
However, she said she would not stop her deputies from issuing these marriage licenses without her approval
Davis said she is uncertain though whether these marriage licenses are valid without her signature on them
She was jailed for five days earlier this month for refusing to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples based on her Christian beliefs
Just before 11am on Monday, lesbian couple Shannon and Carmen Wampler-Collins applied for a marriage license
Davis' deputy Brian Mason granted the license, without his boss's approval

By Associated Press and Dailymail.com Reporter

Published: 04:14 EST, 14 September 2015 | Updated: 14:57 EST, 14 September 2015

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Kim Davis was nowhere to be seen Monday morning as a lesbian couple entered her office, applied for and was approved a marriage license.

The court clerk for Rowan County, Kentucky returned to work today after spending five days in jail for refusing to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples, per her Christian beliefs.

Just before 11am, Shannon and Carmen Wampler-Collins entered the Rowan County Courthouse and applied for a marriage license. Davis' deputy Brian Mason granted the application without his boss's approval. While currently unmarried, Shannon and Carmen share the same last name because they had them changed before the legalization of gay marriage.

As Davis' deputy helped the couple through the marriage application process Monday morning, a protester was heard yelling inside the courthouse about how marriage should be between only a man and a woman.

Elizabeth Johnson from Ohio screamed: 'Come on clerks, don't sign that license. Don't let Kim's five days in jail be in vain.' Meanwhile, marriage equality supporters chanted, 'Love has won.'

Davis appeared to be hiding out in her office with the blinds drawn this morning, according to a picture tweeted by a reporter from WTVQ. A sheriff's deputy was seen guarding the door.

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Kim Davis appeared to be hiding out in her office Monday morning when a lesbian couple came in to apply for a marriage license

Lesbian couple Shannon (in gray shirt) and Carmen Wampler-Collins (in white cardigan) applied for a marriage license on Monday morning, the day Kentucky court clerk Kim Davis returned to work

Davis was nowhere to be seen while Davis' deputy Brian Mason (left) granted the request

Mason has pledged to continue granting marriage licenses to same sex couples, without Davis' approval

Shannon and Carmen embraced after successfully getting their marriage license. While they were applying, some protesters in the room were yelling out their beliefs in heterosexual marriage

Shannon and Carmen had smiles plastered to their faces as they left the courthouse Monday morning

Davis was not seen in the office much on Monday, except for a few occasions when she came out to make copies

Davis makes uses the copy machine in the Clerk of Courts Office on her first day back to work, after being released from jail last week, at the Rowan County Courthouse September 14, 2015 in Morehead, Kentucky

Before going into the courthouse to apply for their marriage license, Carmen Wampler-Collins explained her motivations for taking a stand and tying the knot.

'It's kind of crazy that this has to happen and we hope that in the future it won't and that part of the reason why were here is because we understand personally how hard it is to live in a community like this and be different and be gay and we want to be the face of acceptance,' Carmen Wampler-Collins told CNN.

Her partner Shannon added: 'We want to put a face on Kentucky - a positive spin. There are some wonderful, progressive people here, loving people and that's not what the rest of the country is seeing right now.'

As for their feelings on Kim Davis, Carmen said it's 'unfortunate' that the country clerk has taken things to an 'extreme'.

'I appreciate that she has her beliefs and that she is making a stand but to stand in the way of the people she serves exercising their rights is wrong. I think it's just wrong,' she said.

Earlier in the morning, Davis spoke outside the courthouse and said she would still not be granting marriage licenses to same-sex couples, because of her Christian beliefs

However, Davis said that she would not stop her deputies if they wanted to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Davis stipulated that she is unsure whether these marriage licenses will be legitimate without her stamp of approval

Earlier in the morning, Davis spoke outside the courthouse, saying she would continue to stick to her conscience and not grant marriage licenses to gay couples.

However, she said she would not get in the way of her deputies granting marriage licenses to gay couples without her seal of approval.

'I love my deputy clerks and I hate that they have been caught in the middle. If any of them feels that they must issue an unauthorized license to avoid being thrown in jail, I understand their tough choice and I will take no action against them,' she said.

However, she stipulated that she is uncertain whether these licenses are valid, without her stamp of approval. The governor, the attorney general and the county attorney have said the licenses are valid. Davis and her attorneys claim otherwise.

The deputy county clerk who has said he'll keep issuing marriage licenses despite his boss' objections now sits behind a sign that reads 'marriage license deputy.'

Davis choked up as she was speaking Monday morning, saying she was torn between obeying her God and following the judge's orders.

'I love my lord Jesus, I love all people, and I love my job. I want to continue to serve all three as I have tried to do until now,' Davis said.

Davis, an Apostolic Christian, stopped issuing licenses after the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage, in defiance of a series of court orders. U.S. District Judge David Bunning held her in contempt and ordered her to jail. In her absence, her deputies have issued at least seven licenses to gay couples.

Because my pleas for a modest accommodation have been refused or not acted upon, I have been required to do that which my conscience forbids. As a result I have spent six days in jail because I could not abandon my faith.

In her comments outside of court, Davis said that she loves all people, but could not violate her conscience to grant marriage licenses to couples that do not adhere to her religion's definition of a marriage being between only a man and a woman.

She said she had been pleading with Kentucky Gov Steve Beshear and the state legislature since January, asking that her name be taken off the marriage licenses in the wake of U.S. Supreme Court's ruling legalizing gay marriage.

'While there are many accommodations available, the very simple accommodation I have proposed is to remove my name and my title as the clerk of Rowan County.

'These licenses could be issued under another authority, perhaps the Commonwealth of Kentucky or Governor Beshear himself.

'If these needed to be recorded like a vehicle registration, a lien or a judgement, that could be done. That doesn't raise a conflict of conscience because then we as clerks are not the authorizers of the license.

'Because my pleas for a modest accommodation have been refused or not acted upon, I have been required to do that which my conscience forbids. As a result I have spent six days in jail because I could not abandon my faith,' Davis said.

A non-profit group recently paid for this billboard to be put up in Morehead, Kentucky, in an attempt to change Davis' opinion on gay marriage and her role in granting marriage licenses

Davis pictured center on September 8, the day she was released from jail, with her lawyer (left) and husband (right)

Davis was jailed for five days earlier this month for refusing to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples on the basis of her Christian beliefs

She added that the court order has forced on her a 'seemingly impossible choice' between her conscience or her freedom, and hopes that the governor or state legislature will make an accommodation she no longer needs to be torn between the two.

I'm not a hero, I'm just a person who has been transformed by the grace of God, who wants to work and be with my family. I just want to serve my neighbors quietly without violating my conscience.

'Are we not a big enough, a loving enough, and a tolerant enough state to find a way to accomodate my deeply held religious convictions?

'While my case maybe the most visible right now, there are millions of people out there right now in the private and public sectors who face and are in the same position and they also need reasonable accommodation,' she said.

While Davis' cause has been championed by conservative groups and even Republican presidential hopefuls Ted Cruz and Mike Huckabee, Davis said on Monday that she never wanted to be in the spotlight and hopes that this case is resolved in a 'civil and peaceful' manner.

'I have thought and prayed very hard about what to do. The decisions made in this case and the decisions I will continue to make are mine and mine alone.

'I do not want to have this conflict. I do not want to be in the spotlight and I certainly don't want to be a whipping post.

'I'm not a hero, I'm just a person who has been transformed by the grace of God, who wants to work and be with my family. I just want to serve my neighbors quietly without violating my conscience,' she said.

Davis pictured above in her mugshot. She was jailed for five days and released from jail on Tuesday, September 8

Before she returned to work on Monday, a billboard sprung up in Morehead, Kentucky by a non-profit organization hoping to change Davis' mind.

The billboard, erected by the non-profit group Planting Peace, reads: 'Dear Kim Davis, The fact that you can't sell your daughter for three goats and a cow means we've already redefined marriage.'

The billboard references a passage of the Bible, allowing the buying and selling of women in marriage.

'We put up this billboard just kind of reminding her that from a religious perspective, the definition of marriage has been constantly changing, and this isn’t actually about religion,' Davis Hammit, operations director of Planting Peace, told Reuters. 'We’re talking about government-issued marriage licenses here.'

Hammit says Davis needs 'to recognize that she is acting as an agent of the government. And if she can't fulfill that duty, she needs to resign.'

On Friday, Davis' attorneys filed an appeal seeking another delay in issuing licenses.

In their motion to the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, her attorneys argued that all the same-sex couples who sued Davis for a license received one from her deputies while she was in jail. Therefore, they said, her office should not be required to issue them to any more couples once she returns to work.

Bunning wrote that his mandate to issue licenses applied to all couples, not only those who filed suit. But Davis' lawyers allege that order was issued improperly, and again have asked for a delay.

The tension in Rowan County reached fever pitch last week, as protesters, presidential candidates and news crews from across the county descended on the small town of Morehead.

Davis, through her lawyers with the Christian firm Liberty Counsel, has also alleged that the licenses issued in her absence are invalid. Both the governor and the attorney general reject that notion and say the licenses will be recognized.