Kentucky clerk Kim Davis jailed for gay marriage refusals: What’s Christie think?

Should Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis be jailed because she won't issue same-sex marriage licenses?

No, says Chris Christie. But the New Jersey governor and Republican presidential candidate toed a moderate line when asked about it in New Hampshire Thursday.

"I have real concerns about making sure that religious liberty is protected in this country," NJ.com reports Christie said. "I also have said before though that people who are in government jobs need to do their jobs."

Even before she was jailed, Christie told radio host Laura Ingram said much the same — though his effort toward nuance may have left it a little hard to tell where he comes down: "What I've said before is for someone who works in the government has a bit of a different obligation than someone who's in the private sector or obviously working for educational institutions that's religiously based or others, but my point is we have to protect religious liberty and people's ability to be able to practice their religion freely and openly, and of course we have to enforce the law too."

The "smart thing to do," Christie reportedly said in New Hampshire, is get Davis another job — one that doesn't require her to violate her religious conscience.

Davis "shouldn't be forced to do something that violates her conscience that severely," Christie said. "But there's also — people have to get those licenses. You know?"

Compare that to the less subtle stance Mike Huckabee took: