But Wayne Andrews, president of Morehead State University, disagreed: “I don’t think this issue is dividing our community.”

In a statement to the Morehead News, he said, “We believe elected officials should obey the law and do their jobs.” Many here agree, and not just those connected to the university.

Andrews has been Morehead’s president since 2005, and during that time the school has consistently ranked among the top public universities in the South by U.S. News & World Report. The university has been racially integrated since 1954 and LGBT-friendly for decades.

A same sex marriage supporter holds up a sign for passers by along West Main Street during a protest in front of the Rowan County Courthouse in Morehead, Kentucky. (Ty Wright/Getty Images)
“It’s remarkable how many people are involved in the LGBT community here,” said Darbi Hardin, a 20-year-old junior at Morehead State and president of ALLYance, a campus-based group that advocates for their rights.

Morehead passed a fairness ordinance in 2013, becoming the second city in Kentucky to enact such a measure to protect the rights of the LGBT community. The Rowan County Rights Coalition, an off-campus organization, has nearly 1,400 members in its closed Facebook group.

Rowan County has diversified its economy more than most Appalachian counties, but still, some of the best jobs are offered by the government. Davis’s mother, Jean Bailey, was county clerk for 37 years, and Davis was her deputy for 27 of them. Now, Davis employs her son, Nathan Davis, as a deputy. Rowan County allows such nepotism because keeping good jobs in the family is an Appalachian tradition.