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Ky. judge at center of gay marriage debate

Scott Wartman
swartman@nky.com
David Bunning is sworn in as a federal judge March 27, 2002. His wife stands at his side.

He might not have agreed with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision legalizing same-sex marriage. But he will uphold the law.

That’s what federal District Judge David Bunning’s mom said of her son. The judge from Fort Thomas on Thursday sent Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis to jail after finding her in contempt of court for her refusal to issue a same-sex marriage license.

David Bunning was raised Roman Catholic, graduated in 1984 from Newport Central Catholic High School, and his mother said his faith is still important to him.

"He's a great guy," his mother Mary Bunning said. "He loves the Lord. He loves family. What else more can you expect of a young man?"

Davis’ defiance of the Supreme Court decision has put David Bunning, 49, at the center of the national debate on gay marriage. He earned his law degree from the University of Kentucky in 1991 and worked for a decade as a federal prosecutor before becoming a judge.

“David is an honest person,” Mary Bunning said. “He doesn’t agree with the Supreme Court but has to obey the law.”

Off the bench, the judge keeps a low profile despite his famous family and controversial cases, friends say.

David Bunning is the youngest of nine children of Hall-of-Fame pitcher and former U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning and his wife, Mary Bunning. He grew up in Fort Thomas and was nominated by President George W. Bush for federal judge for the eastern district of Kentucky in 2001. The Senate confirmed the nomination in 2002.

He volunteers at a Covington soup kitchen once a month and at Highlands High School football games, selling hot dogs and hamburgers for the local Lion’s Club.

State Sen. John Schickel, R-Union, got to know David Bunning when Schickel was a U.S. marshal from 2002 to 2008. As a U.S. marshal, Schickel ran security for Bunning when he first became a judge.

Shortly after taking the job, Schickel, Bunning and a few friends went deer hunting.

“He’s a consummate professional, very humble,” Schickel said. “I’ll never forget in my first year as U.S. Marshal, we went deer hunting. He was just one of the guys.”

His father was a Republican U.S. senator, but those who know David Bunning say politics doesn’t enter into his decisions.

His earlier ruling in the Davis case doesn’t show any Republican bias.

Bunning in August denied Davis’ request for a stay and wrote that Davis’ refusal to issue marriage licenses “likely infringes upon plaintiffs’ fundamental right to marry.”

Mark Guilfoyle, a Northern Kentucky attorney and prominent Democrat, vouched for David Bunning when Bush nominated him. Guilfoyle grew up with the judge in Fort Thomas.

He described Bunning as an “accomplished jurist” who has said in open court that when he doesn’t know the answer, he will take the time to find one.

“He leaves his political views at home,” Guilfoyle said. “Any litigant can rest assured that Judge Bunning is going to look at a case with reference to precedent and legal authorities without any preconceived prejudice.”